MUSKEGON, Mich. — Though it was a time for many to stay within their homes for the Christmas holiday, that’s not the case for emergency services, and we saw first-hand that those with the Muskegon Fire Department were still hard at work.
“Having a family at home and having to get up and leave them for the whole shift is not easy,” said firefighter Adam Tiefenbach. “But — you get to come to work and spend it with your second family.”
From cleaning to vehicle maintenance — and then even more cleaning, it was very much a business-as-usual kind of day for the department. But there were moments that reminded them all of a little Christmas cheer.
From colorful arrangements on their trees to sweet treats and messages dropped off by members of the community, there were several things to serve as the perfect pick-me-up.
The only thing greater, however, is an ongoing tradition.
“Of course, you miss your family on this special day, but they understand it — they understand that this is a career that is — you're almost born to do it — it's more of a calling. And so they sacrifice just as much as I sacrifice,” said Muskegon Fire Lieutenant Dan Duffy. “Something that usually we've done every single year is have the families (of the guys that are working) come out, which makes it nice.”
Although different stations found themselves dispatched to different calls, they all eventually found a time in the evening to meet and eat.
Even though the cornbread and rolls were ironically burnt, the ham turned out just right. But more importantly to them — families did show up. A touching moment for a team, that still has a long shift ahead.
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