A Day in the Life of a Firefighter
Our firefighters work a 'Standard Firefighter Shift'. They are on duty 24 hours, and off 48 hours. We have 3 shifts (battalion) each with a Battalion Captain
In addition to emergency response services, firefighters continually train and take care of their firehouse and equipment. Here's a typical day (all this plus responding to calls at a moment's notice):
Time | Activity |
0700-0730 | Battalion Shift Exchange- All personnel receive update of daily events, exchange of information from the shift going off duty. Shift Staffing report complete and shift personnel accountability board updated |
0730-0800 | All shift personnel perform daily emergency vehicle check out. All equipment is inspected for operational readiness, and the shift paramedics complete detail check out of all medical equipment and emergency medications. |
0800-0900 | Morning Physical fitness training. All shift personnel are required to participate in a physical fitness program. This includes aerobic conditioning, stretching, and strength training. This process is a requirement for maintaining physical fitness as outlined by the National Fire Protection Agency Standard 1583 |
0900-1200 | Complete weekly scheduled department equipment and station maintenance. During this period public education events, special projects and other activities are scheduled. |
1200-1300 | Lunch- The firefighters pool their money and buy groceries for lunch and dinner. Some shifts have certain firefighters who usually do all the cooking because they enjoy it; other shifts rotate the cooking duties. |
1300-1700 | Afternoons are dedicated for shift training, fire hydrant function test throughout the city, Pre-Fire Planning of commercial business and target hazards. or participating in community events |
1700-1900 | Dinner |
1900-2200 | Stand-by time. Some firefighters use this time to complete incident reports, training or special projects, or study |
0700 | The shift is relieved at 0700 by the oncoming Battalion |
Special Note | During this entire work period (24 hours) the fire department responds to emergency and non-emergency calls throughout the shift. Often firefighters miss lunch and dinner and must readjust all of the required activities and duties that keep the department in a readiness state. The average shift fire fighter is active from 0700-2100 hours with little downtime. After all activities are complete firefighters are permitted sleep time, however this sleep period us usually interrupted by emergency calls during the night. |