By Ryan Pilon

Christmas at the firehall

Dec 25, 2010 | 7:25 PM

While many people were able to spend Christmas with their loved ones, members of the Prince Albert Fire Department were still hard at work to keep the city safe.

“Today (Christmas), I get to spend the day with my extended family,” Said Cpt. Joel Perreault.

Eight members of the fire department were on the Christmas holiday shift. Perreault said they rotate the holiday shifts equally among the members.

While it’s hard for the firefighters to be at work during Christmas, they say their families understand.

“They understand that working at the fire department is shift work and some dads have to work, some dads have to be at the fire hall and keep the city safe,” Perreault said.

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“They’ve accepted it. They realize that in the service industry that we’re in, that we have to be away from our families. That’s just something we have to do. Somebody has to work here, so I’m glad it’s me,” said Curtis Mickelson, battalion chief.

Luckily, the members are extremely close and they do what they can to make it feel like Christmas at the station.

“We get a bunch of food and we’ll make a meal or two throughout the holidays,” Michelson said.

“We might get a group meal going and just spend some time visiting and sharing some Christmas stories,” Perreault said.

Of course, it’s not all down time. There is work to be done and once an emergency call comes in, they rush off to try and make sure whoever is in need is able to continue having a merry Christmas.

rpilon@panow.com