A day in the life: Abilene Fire Department

Editor's note: This the fifth story in the Abilene Reporter News' series "A Day in the Life," in which we shadow local law enforcement, public figures and other people of note to catch a glimpse of all that they do for the community every day.

The firefighters of Ladder 8 were gathered with other members of Fire Station 8, off Buffalo Gap Road, while they cooked up a brunch of biscuits and gravy. The station smelled wonderful, as their stomachs started to growl. Then, a serious of tones went off across the station.

As those tones began to drop across the speakers in the fire station, it got "the blood pumping," as they prepared for whatever emergency has been thrown at them.

Every member of the Ladder 8 team leapt from their seats and ran to the truck. They buckled their seatbelts, quickly grabbed their medical gloves, and put on their helmets.

The lights on the truck turned on as they pulled out of the station. Drivers pulled over to let them pass. It was time to aid an elderly citizen in a medical crisis. Brunch could wait.

Second family

Ladder 8 holds five seats, but on the day Reporter-News shadowed the team, they left one seat open. These dedicated firefighters sit shifts that are 48 hours every time. They last two full days on and then receive four days off.

Thankfully, Fire Station 8 is an open and friendly station so most families will come to visit during the afternoons of their loved ones' shifts. It feels like one big second family, with members of the station commenting about which episode of "Masters of the Air" they would watch that night after cooking dinner together. It really is the firefighters' second family.

More: "A day in the life" series puts readers beside first responders, others. Links to installments here.

Becoming a master of fire

In order to become a firefighter, one must first pass a competency test. Of the approximately 500 people that sit for the competency test, only about 220 receiving a passing grade.

After 90 in-person interviews, the Abilene Fire Department then selects 45 potential candidates. From those 45, 18-20 will become enrolled into Abilene's fire academy. In the six months of initial training, members of the academy are put through the ringer to ensure they are ready for whatever comes their way.

While they lose about 10% of the class due to atrophy, most make it through to become full-time firefighters for the city of Abilene. Within two years, each firefighter must then attain their paramedic certification, a new requirement which makes firefighters more versatile across the city.

Currently, they are 12 firefighters short locally in an ever-shrinking career field. Additionally, of the 200 personnel employed by the Abilene Fire Department, they only employ one woman. While unfortunate, it's common in fire stations across the U.S. as female firefighters must pass the same certifications as the men — including a dummy drag which simulates dragging a large adult human away from an active fire — all the while wearing a 40-pound weighted vest.

'Stars were on fire'

For the members of Ladder 8, their primary role is search and rescue, in addition to aiding in medical emergencies. Ladder trucks will be assigned to different emergencies by dispatch depending on who is physically closer to the emergency.

Typical calls from dispatch include the obvious, fires, in addition to lesser-known calls such as drug overdoses, medical emergencies from nursing homes, or residents who need medical help but cannot leave their homes.

Ladder 8 firefighters recalled, with a sad and tired look in their eyes, the Mesquite Heat fire of 2021. In the blaze that took out hundreds of acres, one firefighter recounted that with both hills ablaze on the sides of the road, "it looked like the stars were on fire."

The team responds to an exorbitant number of grass fires, which they say can sometimes be attributed to dangling chains off a truck. As these chains strike the hot pavement in spring and summer, sparks can fly and catch nearby grass on fire. In the case of the Mesquite Heat fire, Taylor County Sheriff's deputies tracked down the truck whose chain started the blaze and ticketed the driver.

'Adrenaline junkies'

Captain Scott Wilkerson is the Captain of C Shift at Fire Station 8, and also the son of a 32-year fire department veteran who went on to become the deputy chief for all of Abilene.

When asked why he became a firefighter to begin with, he said that he wanted to help others, while also living a comfortable yet exciting life. A lot of the firefighters seen this day were not known to sit still for long.

They are an extremely active bunch with a requirement to work out for one hour per shift. They have to be strong enough physically to carry a adult out of a burning building, and then some.

Overall, Captain Wilkerson, a 15-year veteran of the fire department, called himself and the members of his station simply "adrenaline junkies." He said with a smirk on his face that when those tones go off in the station to signify another emergency, that's "what gets the blood pumping."

Distress calls top the list

When Reporter-News shadowed Ladder 8 that day, the team responded to four separate elderly distress calls related to medical emergencies. Half of the calls originated in nursing homes, while the other half came from homes where the elderly could not get themselves to the hospital.

Reporter-News could not witness the specific nature of the calls due to medical privacy but could sense the relief as the people were loaded into the ambulances. It was also easy to see the gratitude of the citizens of Abilene, who waved at the truck and pulled over each time to let them pass.

When Ladder 8 reflected on their calls, they considered themselves the "lucky" public servants. They said unfortunately members of law enforcement are not always welcomed as much as they should be. They said that "the best part of their job is that they get to help," and with a bit of a laugh, they said "and not write tickets."

They all echoed the same sentiment, that "there is nothing else" they would rather do.

One firefighter, Lieutenant John Algood recalled a memorable first day on the job and certainly a memorable distress call. When he heard the tones go off in the station, his Captain at the time told him "go on and jump on, should be quick."

Algood ended up assisting in the delivery of a newborn on a woman's couch inside Abilene's city limits. He recalls being stressed and that it "wasn't like the movies," but by relying on his training it "went smoothly."

He also reflected on his time fighting his first fire. He said that it was memorable because he couldn't see anything and the smoke felt heavy in the air. He could see and feel the heat and glow but somehow made it through. He has had some wild experiences, but couldn't see himself doing any other job.

This is the sentiment across the fire station, they have a love of serving others and a sense of common good for everyone. Fires or medical emergencies take place across all walks of life, and Abilene's firefighters are charged with aiding in a crisis or putting out the fire regardless.

These men would give their lives for the citizens of Abilene, to get one person out safe and sound to live another day.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: A day in the life: Abilene Fire Department