To ensure the most effective service at the time of an emergency, our crews must remain with their fire apparatus during their entire shift. Our crews work 24-hour shifts, and they have no scheduled meal breaks. It is possible that on the way back to the fire station after a call, the crew could stop to pick up food or supplies for the station. Each shift, firefighters and their crews pay out-of-pocket for groceries and meals.
They maintain constant radio contact with the communications center and will respond to any emergency, regardless of current location or non-emergency assignment. They don't necessarily have to be sitting in the fire station to be dispatched to a call. Very often, our firefighters spend long periods of their day training, running calls, without returning to the station, or stopping to eat