Last Thursday’s Boone Citizen’s Fire Academy week three training was spent learning what a firefighter’s day is like. (I was thankful for an “easy” night, free of hands-on training, especially since it was muggy out. And I was dreading putting on the hot gear.)
Academy members learned that while there are no typical days for firefighters, there are a number of routine things firefighters do in between calls.
Boone’s full-time firefighters work 24-hour shifts, starting at 7 a.m. The department is split into three crews that operate on what is known as the California Swing shift, meaning they work a day on, day off, day on, day off, day on then have four days off. The three-person crew working these shifts consists of a full-time firefighter and two other firefighters. Part-time firefighters work shifts that vary from 12-24 hours long, while paid on-call firefighters provide assistance during major events.
During each shift change, the outgoing firefighters update the incoming firefighters about the previous day’s calls. After the update, the on-duty firefighters get their gear staged so they are ready to go when a call comes in. Each firefighter has a specific way they set up their gear so they can quickly put it on and respond to calls in approximately 90 seconds.
Mornings at the fire station are spent doing daily chores, which include checking all trucks and equipment, doing monthly drug checks to make sure nothing is out-of-date and cleaning at the station. Documenting incidents the department responds to is another task the crew works on. Throughout the day, time is spent giving tours of the station, training for firefighting scenarios, and going over building layouts for major buildings in town so they know how to better fight any future fires at those locations, among other things.
While all of this may seem tedious after doing it day after day, the daily chores help ensure things are working properly and firefighters are prepared to respond to situations quickly.