Dec. 21, 2010 - Issue #792 : In Case of Holiday Break Glass

Work for the holidays

Edmonton's emergency responders take care of a city on holiday

The upcoming holiday season is a high point in many people's calendar year—the culmination of family, friends and ritual that plays out in idyllic settings. The hearth, the abundance of gifts, the warm gatherings and the lavish meals that accompany them.

For those of us able to spend the holidays in the peace and comforts of loved ones, or surrounded by the wealth and spoils of a Christmas tree crowded with gifts and a dinner table weighed down with goodies, we are often reminded of the ideal message of Christmas: charity, peace and a generous heart.

For those who struggle this time of year, however, the holidays can leave us feeling not only deprived of such romanticized settings, but can highlight the painful realities of broken relationships, financial strain or poor health; indeed, poverty, hunger, homelessness and loneliness don't take time off to coincide with our calendars.

Thankfully, neither do Edmonton's emergency services. The city's police, fire and ambulance workers approach the upcoming festive days just like any other day; while everyone hopes for a safe and happy holidays, frontline first-responders know all too well that tragedy, accidents, poverty and domestic violence happen.

Police Sgt Mark Fay and fire Capt Dave Matwichuk are both veterans in their respective fields, and have seen the best and worst of yuletide spirit. Due to the nature of their work, they and their teams show up for work December 24 like any other day.

While the types of calls aren't necessarily out of the ordinary over the holidays, the emotional context of situations must be handled with added care. "Everybody here is preparing continuously, but it's just more evident this time of year," Matwichuk points out. "Emotionally, there's a lot more discussing things and talking about 'what ifs' and what might happen this time of year than there are in other times."

"When you're going to a call and dealing with it, there might be a moment where you see the contrast to what's supposed to be a nice time of year," Fay echoes. "You may be dealing with tragedy, domestic violence, impaired driving, or you see people's lives that don't necessarily match the holiday ideal, whether they be in absolute poverty, or children aren't being looked after.

"Normally [those days] are quiet, and [police on shift] will try to treat them just like any other shift, and try and postpone any feelings about the holidays," he offers when asked about any added stress due to the time of year. "When calls come in, there's not any more [intensity] than normal."

Not that there's a "normal" day in the life of a police officer—a commonality that fire crews share with police, Matwichuk points out.

"Basically, we [firemen] prepare just like any other day. Obviously, more people are depressed this time of year, some people can't afford the season this time of year and some people are lonely this time of year. Whether it makes our job harder or not, we just realize that that's going to happen and be ready for it."

As emergency responders responsible, first and foremost, for people's safety, police, fire and ambulance workers train extensively in diffusing potentially harmful disputes, deterring crime and violence, de-escalating domestic disputes and rescuing people in life-threatening situations—the list can be endless, and all situations require thorough attention to detail, which helps to keep emotions under check.

"When you're dealing with a situation, a tragedy or a crime scene, you have a job to do, and you focus on that job, so you don't spend time reflecting on what the bigger picture is," Fay explains. "There are so many tasks that have to be done, you focus on doing that, and doing that well. You don't spend time dwelling on the emotional side of it."

For both veterans, it's difficult to recall exact situations that stand out for them; as Matwichuk notes, he's seen "Just about everything under the sun—everything from people losing all their Christmas gifts to a lot of people who just can't afford this time of year. Obviously, in this neighbourhood [Matwichuk works out of Hall Number One, located downtown on 96th Street], it's basically a lot of people that are homeless and things like that, so it's tougher on them right now at the moment," he sympathizes. "The other thing that's always very tough is [seeing] children this time of year, when you go to places where they can't afford Christmas."

As Fay explains, to acknowledge the very human suffering that exists in their line of work can be an obstacle to actually getting the job done, no matter what time of year. But with the holiday season's emphasis on peace and goodwill towards others contrasting with an average emergency situation, he has to push through what may be a more-difficult job.

"When you see certain situations, you can be disappointed that it's not better for those people, but you have to just focus," he reiterates of the emotional impact of Christmas calls. "If it's a difficult call, we may have a debriefing to talk about it amongst ourselves. We also have support services for our members, whether that be counseling or what have you, to take care of one another."

With all these challenges come opportunities to make a difference. Matwichuk recalls one outstanding Good Samaritan moment following a response to a fire call.

"I can remember going to a home where the whole kitchen burnt, and the guys picked up a turkey and cooked it here [at the station] and took it over for Christmas Eve."

It's these small opportunities to create greater change that offer emergency workers like Fay and Matwichuk some respite from the realities of their day-to-day jobs in a city that, both confer, surprised them from day one.

"Before I started, I don't think I was ever naïve as to what was out there, but what surprised me the most was how many people are in difficult circumstances," Fay offers. "I wouldn't say [working Christmas] changes my view of the holidays, but it does reinforce for me how many different types of lives there are out there. People live in many different ways, different lifestyles."

"It's a big city," Matwichuk agrees. "Edmonton is a big city. It's not small town anymore—you're going to see everything from very affluent to homeless, and the poverty is a lot greater than it used to be. There's poverty in every end of town."

While emergency workers like Fay find it helpful to "postpone" the emotion of festivities until after their job is done, Matwichuk and company are celebrating the season with family over dinner—right at the fire hall.

"We're having our families to the fire hall for a Christmas meal, and we do all the cooking," he laughs. "Everyone obviously wishes each other [a happy holidays], but it's coming to the firehall, it's a regular work day. They're coming in to experience that a little bit." V 

More stories in front »

vueweekly.com comments: powered by Disqus