WAUWATOSA — While most can enjoy Thanksgiving around the table with their families, some aren't able to have that same luxury. The Wauwatosa Fire Department is among the group who has to work today to help protect the community.
"When I'm leaving the house in the morning, my kids are excited to get on with their day to day," Lt. Matt Anton said. "That's when you miss those days. Just in general with this job, as they get older, going through school and with different events, it's a different job that way. We get our time off, but we miss a lot of things too."
For these firefighters, they lean on their work family during the holidays. They'll be cooking two 18 pound turkeys with all of the trimmings. While the kitchen at the department looks more like the set of a cooking show, it feels remarkably like home with the smells, smiles and laughter going on.
"We tease each other," Battalion Chief Barbara Kadrich said. "We joke. We look forward to it. We've been talking about this dinner for the last two weeks. The same preparing going on in everyone's home is going on here in the firehouse."
For many members of the fire department, they've spent their entire lives celebrating holidays like this. Firefighting has become somewhat of a family business with several people following in the footsteps of their parents. As such, they've started new holiday traditions with their families visiting at the firehouse to enjoy a giant dinner together.
"They'll look at some of these guys as Uncle Corey or they look at them as family too because we spend so much time together," Anton said.
"If I couldn't be with my family, this is where I'd want to be," Corey Berndsen, a firefighter/paramedic with the Wauwatosa Fire Department said.
Berndsen's father was a firefighter in West Allis for 31 years. He's grown up knowing his dad's job sometimes required him to miss family functions. But his dad also was lucky enough to work with a team willing to work with him so he didn't miss every holiday. It's something Berndsen is trying to continue now that he's a firefighter.
"When I do have off on a holiday, I look at the lineup to see who is working and I'll shoot a text message out to some of the guys working who have small kids at home who would rather spend time with their families," Berndsen said. "I'll shoot them a text and say, hey, I'll work for you if you need to. It's important for me that those guys get to spend time with their family. I'm hoping the day comes, when I have kids at home, the younger guys with no kids at home can step up for me and pay back."
But it's still a work day for everyone at the station. When duty calls, they have to run.
"It's just a normal part of the job," Anton said. "We expect it now. If you can get your first helping in, maybe you won't go for a second if you take a pause."
