Help! - My Dad is a Firefighter

We don't live in the same world that we were raised in (or something like that).  We've offered Dads in our crew to give us their perspective on working a job that people think they know about, but usually have no clue.   We would love to hear your stories, please get in touch here

---

I work a 24 hour shift - 7:00am to 7:00am. People ask, "How's that possible?". My job is unique in that, when we work, we work. When we aren't working, we train, take care of the hall and the trucks, work out, cook, eat and rest. For those 24 hours, the firehall becomes my home and my coworkers become my surrogate family. Being away from my family for the day is what it is. My kids know they won't see me for the day, and my wife knows she's on and has to assume all the responsibilities. Right now, the biggest challenge we face when I'm not home is managing our kids activities. Making sure everyone can get to the places they need to be without my help. With a bunch of active kids, that becomes a job in itself.
Unlike most, my job doesn't have deadlines, quarterlies or quotas. When I'm done, I'm done. I don't take calls, respond to emails or pull an extra long day. That makes it really easy to be present with my family. But sometimes, I have to work under fairly extreme pressure, and when I'm asked "How was your day?" I can't (and don't want to) burden my family with the details of that day. Those things have to be shelved, and I need to be dad/husband and not a firefighter. Sometimes that's easier said than done. I get to help people when the need it most. I get to walk my kids to school, go on field trips and drive my kids to practice. I am one of the fortunate.