By Lt. Michael Swiman, Wake Forest Fire Department

Many people ask what it is like to be on shift for 24 hours straight. Each shift day can vary wildly, so it is hard to say what a “typical” day is like. At my department, our work cycle is: on for 24, off 24, on 24, off 24, on 24, off four days. Our shifts start at 0700 and end the next morning. Now, don’t get me wrong, this is a great schedule. And while we do miss our families, our shiftmates are our second family and definitely leave nothing unturned. I took some notes from a recent work cycle on the engine to which I’m assigned – here they are:

Sunday
The first day of my shift happened to be a Sunday, which is like a free day at work 98 percent of the time in my department. The first question of the day – regardless of where you work – is ‘What are we eating today?’ No matter where you work in public safety, this is one of the hardest questions to answer. It doesn’t matter if it’s two or eight people (just FYI, my station has eight people on shift).

As we ponder the day’s food dilemma, we begin to do our first-day-of-cycle checks on our respective apparatus. During the checks, we are going over all power equipment, the apparatus itself, all equipment on the rig and the EMS gear. By mid-morning we’re on to hose testing. Luckily the amount of hose that we are assigned to test is minimal, as the truck company did the majority of it last work cycle while we were out servicing hydrants.

When all the morning activities were completed, we still haven’t decided on the meals for the day, but we are off to a call for an unconscious patient. Once we cleared from the call, we went to the store to get the items needed for dinner. We didn’t worry about lunch today since there was a community event that the engine and ladder crews were invited to for lunch.

During the event, kids played and toured the apparatus and had their pictures taken and had the chance to ask us questions answered. We had a few more EMS calls come in during the event: we were dispatched to a cardiac arrest and a medical call, the nature of it unknown. When we returned to the station, it was time to begin cooking dinner and relax a bit from the day. We also did some general clean-up around the station. Nights at this station can be hit or miss. Luckily, we had a change of pace from the day and were able to get a full night of sleep.

Tuesday
Tuesday begins a lot like Sunday did. We chat with the crew we’re relieving to see what had happened on their shift and relay any other information as needed. The apparatus are checked again. This morning we decided to go and attempt to service some more hydrants. But, during the hydrant work, both apparatus were busy running EMS calls in our first due areas (A total of 11 calls from 0800 to 1130). This morning we were also called back to the station to assist with an administrative duty from the on-call battalion chief. We continued hydrant servicing into the afternoon until the rain storms came through. Tonight we had an overnight call for an automatic fire alarm at one of the local motels, where someone was playing in the hallway at 0200 and decided to activate a pull station. As for the other angry hotel guests, I am with you. I want to go back to bed too!  As soon as we get done and leave, you can get back to your rooms, and I will get back to mine.

Thursday
Thursday, the last day of the cycle, starts pretty much the same as the previous two days on shift. While we were out in the district servicing the hydrants, the ladder captain had us return to the station to partake in a demo for a new power saw and blades. It definitely was a good training event taking the demo saw to its limits with the dealer rep there.

After lunch we completed the last few hydrants that were left with the assistance of the ladder company. This evening, dinner was a little more elaborate due to shift transfers that were taking place on the next shift. This means some of the people were moved to another station or shift; it’s like breaking up a family that works well with each other.

Tonight we were dispatched to a fire alarm at an apartment right behind the station. When we arrived with the truck company, we found an activated sprinkler head in a bedroom with significant water on the floor of the apartment. We assisted with removal of the water and helped the occupants obtain some of their belongings.

Later in the night, we had another fire alarm call at a local nursing/rehabilitation home. Apparently, one of the home’s residents ran through the hallway and ripped a pull station off the wall. Never a dull moment! When we arrived, the facility staff was still evacuating the facility, with the residents (many we know by name) were trying to argue with us for inconveniencing them. There were some issues on scene where the management did not want to follow the recommendations of the on-duty fire marshal, which delayed the residents returning to their rooms. Once those issues were resolved some 90 minutes later, the residents returned to their rooms and we returned to the station. The next morning, we traded information with the oncoming crews, those that were changing shifts or stations with the transfers packed up their stuff up. Off to begin the 4-day break.

Lt. Michael Swiman is a member of the Wake Forest Fire Department in Wake Forest, North Carolina.