Kemp Place Fire and Rescue Station, Firecom team working Christmas Day
A team of Brisbane firefighters and emergency responders have revealed what Christmas Day will look like, the sacrifices they make and the unusual calls outs for the silly season.
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A team of Brisbane firefighters and firecom responders rostered on for Christmas Day have revealed what they sacrifice over Christmas.
Senior Firefighter Simon Skewes at Kemp Place Fire and Rescue Station said working over Christmas was not a shift to resent.
“There’s no begrudging on Christmas Day when you’ve got such a great job like this one,” Mr Skewes said.
“It becomes very family focused around here. We make a big deal out of it here, no one dreads working Christmas Day.”
Mr Skewes said Christmas Day was a day for the crew to look forward to a delicious cookup, a spot of cricket or two, and a time to spend with family and co-workers, all while staying on call for the community.
“We still are on the run, we are still an operational fire station,” he said.
“Everything is done with that in mind, but we certainly accommodate for families especially with a larger station we can accommodate for up to 30 people.
“I’ve got two children and my wife will be here. It really is a good day, a good family Christmas.
“Everyone plays a part in Christmas lunch, and that just helps with our team work values, that’s the way we like to run around here.
“On Christmas Eve we may have a game of cricket out the side.”
Mr Skewes said it was important the community remain safe and prepared during the silly season.
“We get a lot more unusual incidents that occur over the Christmas period, call ins for accidents from new toys, toys with lithium batteries and things like that,” he said.
“There’s a lot more people out on the road during the Christmas season, so there’s always that message to be a bit more careful on the roads in travelling from place to place.
“It’s the time of year where you don't want to be one of those people where an accident occurs on Christmas.
“Slow down and take it easy on the roads, we don’t want you to be one of the statistics over the Christmas period.”
Firecom officer, Tanya Henderson, from the Firecom team at the Emergency Services Complex at Kedron said they try to maintain as much Christmas cheer as they can over the difficult period.
“As an SEO we take anything from triple-0 calls through to dispatching trucks out to incidents,” Ms Henderson said.
“It’s important we get the information to keep the caller safe and get the information and crews out there.”
“The job can take away from time with the family, so when we are on we try to make it seem as Christmas-y as possible when you are at work.”
Acting supervisor on Christmas Day Vanessa Hand said although she finds her role rewarding there can be a sadness.
“You can get a bit sad when you don’t get to spend Christmas Day with your family,” Ms Hand said.
“Unfortunately this time of year is horrible for accidents and it’s just that time of year where it’s just not as warm and fuzzy as people would like it to be.
“I think sometimes that’s the realism of this job.
“But we do try to bring the Christmas spirit back, we decorate the tree, our desks, eat some nice food.
“It’s just a day where we don’t want jobs, but we do want people having a safe time with their family and being safe on the roads.”
Firecom officer, Maddison Nunn, is part of a third generation of emergency responders with her father, Ross Nunn and her Grandfather, Terrence Nunn both working as firefighters.
“It’s a very rewarding job,” Ms Nunn said.
“There are days you can have really difficult incidents but it can be rewarding to still do the very best we can to help people in situations which are probably the worst they’ve ever been in.”
“We definitely take the good with the bad.”
Firecom officer, Owen Hardman, said the best piece of advice he can offer to holiday goers is to respond to the important questions asked by the crew.
“The best advice I have for those people that are ringing in is let us know your location first,” he said.
“If you can give us a location, we can go from there.”
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