That subject – Smoke Detectors. Recently the guys came back in from a response to a residence for a small fire in an oven. One of the things we do on any structure fire is determine whether or not the home has a smoke detector. In this particular instance, no smoke detector was present. In this particular response this was a family of 2 adults and 3 children of average means. It is difficult for us as firefighters to understand how anyone could go to bed at night without an operating smoke detector in your home. For less than the cost of a 12-pack of soft drinks you can purchase a smoke detector and quite literally save your and your family from a disaster. We can even help you with that, as we offer smoke detectors to our community at a highly reduced rate. By the way, in the home of the stove fire that I used as an example, we installed a smoke detector before we left the scene. And if you cannot afford to buy one, we will do the same for you. Please don’t go to bed tonight without an operating detector in place in your home.

So back to the subject. Actually there is not enough room in this forum to tell you everything that the firefighters do, so I’ll just hit the highlights.

Here’s what a typical day goes like:

• 7:30 am – Report for duty and morning radio check.
• 8:00 am – Raise flags and shift debriefing
  This is a short meeting between the shift going off and the one coming on to cover any items that need to be carried over to the incoming shift.
• 8:30 am – Morning meeting
  All personnel on duty have a short meeting to review daily schedule and plan the day’s unscheduled activities.
• 9:00 am to 11:00 am – Daily, weekly and monthly apparatus checks
  Each response vehicle has a schedule of items that are checked everyday. Some items like fuel and protective equipment are checked daily while other items are checked once a week or month. Each truck is started and run everyday to ensure that it is ready for a response.
• 12:00 noon to 1:00 – Lunch Break
  Usually one of the guys on shift prepares lunch for the shift or sometimes we may order from a local favorite restaurant; but we usually eat together at least 1-2 meals a day.
• 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm – Weekly training
  Training can be from any number of areas like ladder placement, interior firefighting, medical in-service, hazardous materials, driver training, just to name a few. Training sessions last from 2 to 4 hours on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday each week. Fridays are reserved for Special Team training that includes areas like water rescue, confined space and rope rescue.
• 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm – Daily, weekly and monthly cleaning
  Just like the trucks, buildings have to be maintained too. Each station has specific items and areas that are cleaned on a scheduled basis.
• 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm – Dinner Break
• 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm – On Tuesday evenings volunteer firefighters come in for training with the full-time personnel. The remainder of the evenings is spent doing preplans, fire reports and any other unfinished cleaning or other projects.
• 11:00 pm to 7 am – Quiet time except for response calls
• 7 am – Wake-up time

This is the daily routine with some notable exceptions like response calls, but certainly is not all that we have to do. Included with the above is: Fire Hydrant Maintenance which includes flowing, testing, painting, and clearing weeds, Pre-Fire Planning Inspections of businesses; Fire Prevention Programs; Vehicle Maintenance; Ladder Testing; Hose Testing; Pump Testing – to name the notable items. At present every employee is working on projects for an accreditation process that we are involved in. This entails meeting with committees, reading and writing policies and working with planning groups in responding to the criteria of the accreditation process.

All of this makes for a very active, busy work day for all involved. And, of course, don’t forget about the average of 4 – 5 emergency responses a day. So the next time you see a TV commercial showing firefighters sitting around relaxed, just remember that’s the Hollywood style firefighter, far from reality.


Charles P. (Phill) Jolley - Chief
Pelham Batesville Fire Department