By Allison Carrier, Marketing and Communications Manager, Town of Scarborough
Shannon Mazyck is a Fire Lieutenant at the Oak Hill Station in the Town of Scarborough’s Public Safety Building. She oversees the crew assigned to the station and supervises as they answer emergency calls. There is no typical day at the fire station, but keeping a routine between calls helps maintain order.
7:30am. Shannon arrives for her 24-hour shift. It’s long, but she is used to it and enjoys the company of her crew. The morning always starts the same: changing into her uniform.
She then gets a report from the previous duty crew as they end their shift in what’s called the “morning pass on”. They cover anything the arriving person may need to know about the truck or equipment, big calls that came in, malfunctions in alarms that need to be checked, and anything else they should know for the day ahead. One of today’s updates is that the squad truck is at Public Works getting the coolant looked at.
8:00am. Shannon puts her gear on the fire truck so she is ready if a call comes. She makes sure her air pack (the backpack to breathe during a fire) is all set and puts her name tag on the station’s accountability board—a tool to keep track of all firefighters when on a scene. She takes this board to any big scene and gives it to the person in charge. “It’s one of the most important parts of the job,” she says.
8:15am. Every morning, Shannon joins a conference call run by the captain who oversees all six Scarborough fire stations. Everyone who is working is on the call. Captain Nate Contreras divides responsibilities among each of them and assigns building inspections if needed. At this time of year, dry hydrants and tanks need their annual check to make sure they are working. Crews are sent to check them. The captain also lets the crews know if there is a set training for the day It might be how to use new piece of equipment, hose deployment, or a roll-up drill.
8:30am. When the call wraps up, Shannon and her crew make a game plan for the day (outside of emergency calls). They plan the day’s training and talk about what’s for dinner… “Let’s be real, it’s something we all look forward to.” There is a new employee doing orientation today, so she will focus on getting him used to his role, the scheduling system, and responsibilities.
Then it’s on to their daily truck checks. There should be no surprises when they head to a call. The ambulance crew checks the front-line ambulance, the Engine 7 driver checks that truck. They check the third ambulance to make sure the equipment is stocked, within date, and that everyone knows how to use what’s there and where it is. She also checks the squad truck, the “toolbox on wheels” she calls it, to make sure everything is accounted for. They make sure the truck turns on, lights work, sirens and horns work, pumps are working right, water is there, tools are ready to go, and the hose is set up properly.
10:00am. Today Engine 7 is scheduled to get the lug nuts checked. Shannon brings it over to Public Works. They get a call that the squad truck is ready to pick up, so they’ll do that too.
In the meantime, a fire alarm call comes in. Dispatch tells them where it is. Shannon jumps in the truck and heads to the scene. It’s a false alarm and the owner knows what caused it. Other times they arrive on scene and need to use tools and meters to figure out the cause. If it’s a commercial building, they go to the fire alarm panel to reset it prior to leaving. They also talk to the owner/occupant to get information for a report.
11:00am. An ambulance call came in right after the fire alarm, so some of the crew are responding to that. Meanwhile, Shannon, Captain Contreras, and the lieutenant at the Dunstan station meet to go over the new people starting on shift. They also review summer goals for the staff and any big changes or plans that others should be notified on.
12:30pm. The ambulance crew is just getting back, so they all sit down for lunch. The crew aims to eat around noon, but there are constant interruptions throughout the day and their initial plan for the shift often gets pushed far behind.
1:00pm. Shannon meets back up with the new employee to continue his orientation. They end up being cut short because a call comes in, but they’ll resume later.
1:30pm. Two medical calls come in back-to-back. Medical calls are common for Scarborough, consistent with nationwide trends. The most common is for chest pain. The ambulance crew heads over with the Engine to assist and initiates patient care. They get out a stretcher and start doing an IV. When they’re on scene, Shannon is responsible for making sure everyone and their surroundings are safe. The ambulance ends up bringing the patient to the hospital.
2:30pm. Shannon takes time to review draft incident reports. Every call requires a report be filed within 24 hours. They include the time, location, patient details (if applicable), and a narrative of what happened. Today there’s time to squeeze in a workout, so she does that now. Being physically fit is a job requirement for Shannon and the other firefighters.
4:30pm. While there’s always a training scheduled, it often gets delayed with the day’s work. They get to it late today, but it’s worth it. “We have a really strong team,” Shannon says. “Everybody is energetic and trying to learn more.”
6:00pm. After a busy day, it’s time for some dinner and chill time. While daytime tends to be busiest for calls, it still can be tough to get everyone around the table for dinner, but they do their best. “We really value the down time for camaraderie.” They usually cook together, and tonight it’s grilled chicken with vegetables. Then it’s dinner cleanup, cleaning the bathrooms, sweeping, and mopping, so as not to leave a mess for the next shift. Finally, they wind down with a game of cards and tea.
9:00pm. Shannon heads to a bed in the station but is still on shift. If a call comes in, they’ll have to get up. Surprisingly, there were no calls tonight. After 20 years in the fire service, there are still no days that look the same.
Allison Carrier’s “Day in the Life” column gives readers a peek into the lives and work of municipal employees. Thank you, Allison.
