Spending the holidays with first responders

For most of us, Christmas is about spending time with family, but one group is making sure our families are staying safe.

First responders serve and protect us while being away from their own loved ones.

After a month of working with the Fort Myers Fire Department, Christian is starting to get the hang of things.

“My first day was on Thanksgiving day, which is kind of weird … It was a fun day to start,” said Christian.

As the newest member of this firefighter team, Christian is getting used to making sacrifices.

“It takes a while to adjust, especially waking up in the middle of the night, and you have to go from 0 to 100 so it takes a little bit to adjust. But after that, it’s really not that bad,” said Christian.

On Christmas day, Christian and 7 other firefighters are making another sacrifice. They are spending Christmas away from their families to provide round-the-clock protection and service for the community they love.

“We’re just regular guys who do a job that we love,” said FMFD Chief Scott Davis. “It’s like I said: It’s the greatest, even when you get stuck working a holiday once in a while, you just, you do it the day before the day after.”

While they may be away from home on Christmas day, these local heroes find ways to celebrate the holidays together.

“We were with each other for a third of our lives. So if you think about it, we’re with the guys here more than with our wives at home,” said Wirth.

It’s been a quiet Christmas day for the most part but staying on their toes is the name of the game for whenever duty calls.

“We try to get sleep early on because usually nighttime is when it gets a little crazy,” said Junel, another firefighter.

Crazy days are why they are here and their service to this community keeps us safe even during the holidays.