More than fighting fires: The daily life of a SJFD Firefighter

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- No two days are the same for the firefighters at the St. Joseph Fire Department.

A typical shift can include meetings, training sessions, business inspections and, most importantly, responding to emergency calls and fires.

On a slow day, firefighters may respond to four calls. On an average day, they typically respond to nine or 10 calls. During especially busy shifts, crews may answer as many as 14 calls.

Craig Hamm, SJFD captain engineer, said Monday was a particularly busy day for the department.

"There was a gas leak inside, we had the two car fires, we had a car on its top at Lovers Lane. Right before you got here, we had a extrication call, now these people crawled out of the car," he said. "There were at a gas leak, waiting for the gas company to get there, when this power line went down on the way east side of town. They sent truck seven from downtown all the way out there. Today it was nuts."

A typical day usually begins with checking the truck, exchanging information with the off-going crew and a Zoom meeting.

"We get our day's agenda on that morning meeting. On that morning meeting, we also will critique a lot post incident," he said. "If we had a fire, the day before a lot time in the team meeting the next day, we talk about what we could of have done better, what we saw, what the first company saw and why the reported what they did."

Daily fitness training is a key part of the job, and each fire station is equipped with a fitness facility.

"Guys usually work that in when they want. They can usually schedule that at their convenience. Some guys like to do it early, that's completely up to them," he said. "Some guys will stay up late at night, they put their headphones on, put their music on and get their workout later."

Every three to four months, each company conducts fire safety inspections at businesses throughout St. Joseph. Firefighters check addresses, fire extinguishers, exits, electrical systems and overall housekeeping to help ensure buildings meet safety standards.

"Every year, every business ideally should get a fire inspection. We have fire inspectors that do more in-depth, more thorough inspections when a business first opens, for the first time," he said.

Training is a top priority for the fire department. Firefighters take part in structured classroom instruction provided by outside agencies, company-level training and individual online coursework.

On Monday afternoon, one crew member was conducting forcible-entry training.

"They're practicing the technique to force a commercial door that has good deadbolts and there's just a couple tricks to it. These are all things if you don't practice your not gonna be good at when you actually have to do it," he said.

For Hamm, the best part of the job is the adrenaline and the reward you take away from it.

"Even on your busy days when you had a fire in the morning of some sort, and then maybe you had a gas leak inside, you run and run," he said. "Then a lift assist comes in, you still know you're doing something that's useful. People call you cause they want to see you."

If there is time at the end of the day, firefighters would unwind by playing cards, marbles or ping pong.