Working at a fire station is a lot like having a second family. For 24 hours a day we work, live, eat, train and relax together.

Most fire departments in San Diego utilize the Kelly Schedule, which divides personnel into three 24-hour platoons that work on a rotating basis. The shifts are broken down into A (red), B (blue) and C (green) shift. I am on (the very prestigious) C-shift.

Crews are broken down into different assignments and responsibilities. Here is the Reader's Digest breakdown; The Captain is the shift supervisor. He is ultimately responsible for all activities and tasks. The Captain rides in the "shotgun" position on the fire engine and can be distinguished by his red helmet. The next position is the Engineer, who is responsible for all aspects of the fire engine including driving it and pumping water. Not as easy as turning on the shower, the Engineer must be well versed in hydraulics and pump theory. Firefighter/Paramedics are the workhorses of the engine. They are responsible for the hands on work: handling hose lines, direct patient care, cutting open cars, etc…

In Bonita each platoon is assigned different functions. A-shift is the training division; B-shift does vehicle maintenance and most repairs; and C-shift handles fire and injury prevention. Because we are one of the smallest departments in the county, we don't have some of the luxuries that you may find at larger departments. When our fire engine has a problem, we can't send it to our mechanic, because we are the mechanics.

Additionally, each Firefighter is assigned a number of tasks. In my case, I handle injury prevention, public access defibrillation, CPR training and grant writing. My Captain doubles as the department's Fire Marshall and Fire Investigator, and my Engineer is the department's Safety Officer, in addition to being responsible for all breathing apparatus (BA) maintenance and department maps. When you throw in training, workouts, preparing meals and running 911 calls, it makes for a busy day.

Our "office hours" are from 8 a.m. to around 5 p.m. This is when we try to complete all the work described above, but often we work well into the night to complete staff assignments and paperwork. After 5 p.m. we can relax, watch TV, study or work on personal projects, mindful that we have to be ready to respond to emergency 911 calls within 60 seconds.

It is not ALL work. We do take breaks and often you can find us grabbing a drink at Donny's Café (3901 Bonita Road). If you go there, make sure you try the iced Heaven's Delight or the Cold Carl.