Featured Photo by Jordan Reining
Story by Jordan Reining
The 24-hour shift begins and ends with coffee mugs scattered around a polished, brown table. During this time, information is relayed from one team to another, explaining the calls of the previous day.
Station 4, of the Murfreesboro Fire and Rescue Department (MFRD), operates on three shifts. Each set of firefighters works 24 hours, followed by 48 hours off.
Over coffee every morning, the shifts switch out their assigned gear from the trucks while updating their teammates about any news that might help them be successful within the next 24-hour span.
The first hour is crucial. It is one of the few times each shift interacts with the others. Fueled by caffeine, coffee mugs pile up as the teams talk with each other.
The cluttered coffee cups are a good sign of comradery.
Mugs lying around let you know people are communicating, because the firefighters sit down with each other and talk over a few cups, one of the station’s crew members explained.
Once the opening talk has finished, the crew proceeds with their morning chores. Taking the trucks for gas, but also to get groceries as a team, this exchange allows for them to settle in and prepare for the day ahead.
Shift ‘C’ was on call this past Saturday, Dec. 9. The members explained the routine they follow every third day.
In a kitchen decorated with LED lights and models of shiny red firetrucks, they dedicate time to eat breakfast and dinner together. Taking turns to cook for the crew, the men operate with a fluidity that comes from practice and repetition.
Setting the hot dishes out on the large island that occupies the middle of the space while others lay out placemats atop the table across the room, this is a familiar dance.
Banter fills the air throughout the station, occasionally interrupted by a siren and digitized voice detailing the address and required team of their next call.
Station 4 is one of two dual-company stations within the MFRD. They have both a ladder and rescue truck. Each vehicle is manned by four people: a driver, captain and two firefighters.
Each team is sent out in accordance with the type of call. A wreck on the interstate might require the rescue truck equipped with tools to saw through car doors or roofs. A raging fire in a multi-story building might demand the aerial ladder built into the ladder truck.
While they wait for the siren to sound, they take care of administrative duties, station chores and training.
Firefighter Josh Walker, a member of the rescue team, explained the extent of their job goes far beyond fighting fires and assisting in medical calls.
“In the fire service, the schooling never stops,” Walker said.
Each fireman has training and classes they must attend. In Murfreesboro, they must log at least 40 training hours each year.
Wearing the standard uniform — cargo pants, a shirt stating rank and name with department patches on the sleeve and black shoes — the crew of station 4 take time throughout the day to file paperwork after each call and practice skills they learned at the academy.
With bright red rope segments scattered around chairs and tables throughout the firehouse, it is not uncommon to see someone practicing an assortment of knots.
Walker, wearing his Murfreesboro Fire baseball cap, with a toothpick tucked under its side band, seamlessly demonstrated the different knot families. From butterfly knots to clove hitches, each one has a different purpose.
Station 4 specializes in rope rescues, reaffirming the need for its members to have the upmost confidence in their abilities.
After so much practice, Walker and his crewmates can tie knots with ease, showing off their skills to make them one handed or behind the back.
When the tone finally rings throughout the station and the alarm lights flash red signaling a call, the requested company moves with a calm air about them as they file into the engine bay toward their designated truck.
Loading into the trucks, the four members put on headsets and listen as details come in about their assigned emergency.
The gear they use depends on the type of situation they expect to face. A medical emergency calls for gloves and medical equipment, whereas a wreck requires them to fully dress up into the multi-layer protective suits stashed in the trucks.
Firefighters never fully know what they might face once they arrive on scene, so as they hurry to get their suits on in the cramped quarters of the fire engine, each member takes stock of what they have on hand that might be necessary.
The spontaneity of calls and range of emergencies leads to a job full of surprises.
Although they follow a routine with set tasks they must get through before the day ends, they walk into the station with no expectations.
“You walk in in the morning, and you literally never know what you’re gonna get into,” Walker said.
It is impossible to predict what emergencies might arise throughout a shift. From dogs trapped in cars on hot summer days to crawling under houses to douse a fire, the crew experiences new scenarios daily.
These moments serve to bring the firefighters closer to each other. When calls end badly, they lend a shoulder and helping hand to each other. Occasionally acting as impromptu therapists for one another, the men at station 4 rely on this connection.
It is this bond that shines through in small moments, whether it be competing to tie the best knot, or having table tennis tournaments in the spare time they have during a shift.
For Walker, the best part, without a doubt, is the brotherhood and comradery he has experienced during both his training at the academy and with the crew at station 4.
They eat, sleep and work together in close quarters, leading to a bond that only strengthens as time goes on.
“We got friendship stretched across the stations, across the crews…at the end of the day, we’re all one big Murfreesboro fire family,” Walker said with a laugh.
More calls get issued as day turns to night, with each respective team working to assist and support their patients in whatever way they can.
At the end of the night, when the firemen get a reprieve from the sirens, they get ready for bed. Like the practiced routine of the early morning hours, they each have their own process for winding down and ensuring the station is at its best for the next crew.
Some members retire to sleep early, while others linger in the living space talking about random moments and memorable calls they’ve responded to in the past. There is no telling what emergencies will beckon them in the middle of the night, so they are sure to find sleep whenever and wherever they can.
Privacy curtains pulled shut, they sleep with speakers and lights ready to alert them of an emergency at any time.
Making it through the night, with varying amounts of sleep, they rise with the sun the following day, ready to switch out gear and trade off new stories as the next shift settles in, cups of coffee never too far out of reach.
To contact Lifestyles Editor Destiny Mizell, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com. For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com, or follow us on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines or on X at @MTSUSidelines.
