A day at the DeKalb firehouse

DeKALB – At 7 a.m. on a Wednesday, DeKalb firefighter/paramedic Patrick Eriksen has just started a 24-hour shift at the DeKalb fire station.

The building at 700 Pine St., designated as Fire Station No. 1 built in 1972 to serve the city’s central and southeast side, was abuzz with a recent shift change.

Between 6:15 and 6:30 a.m., Eriksen and the rest of his shift shuffled in to begin their day. They were greeted, likely, by a weary crew who probably had spent most of their overnight hours responding to 911 calls instead of sleeping.

In the in-between moments when the fire station welcomes a fresh batch of people for its next 24-hours-on, 48-hours-off gig, the crews are debriefed. Maybe a sensor door on the fire engine that didn’t light during a call needs checking.

When asked how often the 22-year veteran firefighter gets to sleep through the night on the job, Eriksen – who’s most recent call that day was for medical aid for a broken arm – laughed.

“If I had a nickel I’d still be broke,” Eriksen said. “If you look at it though, historically, we’re a nighttime department. We don’t really start running calls til 4 o’clock.”

The DeKalb Fire Department operates three stations throughout the city, with a fourth likely on its way, responding to 911 calls that run the gamut. These days, calls for service include (of course) fires, but largely involve medical needs.

This is what I try to instill in these young kids that come to work here. They are calling you when they’re stressed out, when they’re freaking out at possibly their worst moment. Just help them.”

—  Patrick Eriksen, DeKalb firefighter/paramedic

As of April, the department staffs 36 active firefighter/paramedics, employs four probationary firefighters, 11 lieutenants, three battalion chiefs, three captains, two deputy chiefs, fire chief Mike Thomas and two administrative assistants, said Deputy Fire Chief of Training James Carani.

Each shift has 18 or 19 people evenly distributed among the three stations. The fire engine takes three to operate and the ambulance two.

To get hired in DeKalb, you need to have our paramedic license, be at least 21 and with a clean record and driver’s license, Carani said.

“A huge part of my job is the safety of our personnel,” Carani said. “So we preach that in everything we do with training, whether it be firefighting or EMS.”

Back at the fire station, the new crew changes into their gear. It’s time to check the rigs.

Parked inside the expansive garage on Pine Street sit two fire engines and an ambulance. Each engine stores vital equipment: firefighting coats and gear, oxygen tanks, hoses, a new battery-operated saw that’s often used to cut through walls or other impediments to get to a patient in need. A tool known as the “jaws of life,” now battery-operated is used to free someone trapped inside their car. Oil dry, a white, powdery substance sprinkled over oil spills during a traffic crash, is used to prevent oil fires.

Eriksen, as his shift’s engineer – he drives the truck – must check and restock each of the truck’s compartments to ensure the rigs are equipped and ready to go back out.

Breakfast usually is between 8:45 and 9 a.m. As the crew eats, the discussion often turns to what they should do for dinner (Eriksen said most fend for themselves for lunch). Someone suggests buffalo chicken sandwiches. A quick trip to the grocery store is planned when a crew member or two can spare the time.

At 9:30 a.m., training begins.

The instruction for the day focuses on what’s called consumption training. Firefighters don full gear and an oxygen tank while undergoing intense physical conditions to help determine how quickly they’ll use up a full tank of oxygen.

The instructions were clear: Suit up, climb a flight of stairs, drag a life-size dummy across the length of the garage, hike outside and raise a ladder, drag a hose outside and spray it, hit a tractor tire 10 times with an ax, come back inside and pull a dangling pole (to simulate pulling a ceiling down) 10 times. Then repeat. And again until the oxygen tank runs out.

Eriksen made it in about 18 minutes, he said.

“So now I know in the back of my mind, if I’m way in a fire, and I’m hitting the 17-minute mark, I’ve got to keep an eye on myself, slow it down or keep an eye on my air because I don’t want to go too far in and run out,” Eriksen said.

Carani, who will mark his 27th year with the department in August, runs training for all shifts weekly at each station.

Sometimes training demands a field trip.

In the winter, crews train for cold water rescues. In the summer, they train for boat rescues on the Kishwaukee River. Railroad emergency response training must be strictly coordinated with Union Pacific, to learn how to respond in the event of a major explosion, since “there’s tons of product moving through our town every day,” Carani said. Extracation training is done with old cars provided by Lovett’s Towing.

The crews regularly trek out to Elgin Community College for structure fire training with live flame. Medical professionals from Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital come out monthly to conduct EMT training or specialized medical responses for cardiac arrests, pediatric care or obstetrics.

According to the department’s most recent annual report, 81% of calls for DeKalb Fire Department services in 2022 were for medical emergencies.

“Everyone calls [911] for anything under the sun now,” Carani said. “It’s a different world, and we have to be as prepared as we can for just about any type of emergency.”

Training that day doesn’t end after lunch. It’s 2 p.m. and the shift crew heads a few blocks over to Barb City Manor, 680 Haish Blvd.

There, the crew conducts a building tour. This is especially important for new recruits. Often, emergencies require crews to get in and out of a building as quickly as possible. They must know the layout, where staircases and exits are, if their water hose will reach the top floor and where to evacuate occupants if needed.

“When you are in them [buildings] when they’re on fire and full of smoke and you can’t see, that’s not the time to be in there for the first time,” Carani said. “So we do these pre-planning walk-throughs.”

Around 3 p.m., the shift schedule opens. Many go downstairs to the fire station’s workout room for more exercise. Some will do additional training online using videos.

All of this scheduling, of course, goes out the window when a 911 call comes in.

Mid-sentence standing in the station’s garage seated on a fire engine bumper, Ericksen paused. A loud flat-toned alarm sounded for several seconds.

“That’s Station 3, not us,” Eriksen said, his eyes falling back from the ceiling to the conversation at hand.

It’s appears as a somewhat-eerie instinct – the alarm sounds, a city dispatcher describes the call (a broken nose), the crew goes silent.

“Station 3′s the only one I can tell [the tone]. I can’t tell the difference between Station 1 and 2,” Ericksen said. He worked 12 years at Station 3 before his current post.

It’s late afternoon, and it’s likely the action will pick up. Ericksen said regular calls usually start to come in about 4 p.m. and continue throughout the night and early morning. An elderly woman called 911 earlier for what turned out to be a malfunctioning smoke alarm.

Does it ever bother him, the overnights and being away from family? Eriksen said while the lack of sleep hasn’t gotten easier, the 24/48 schedule allows him a little more freedom to spend with his children. In fact, in his 18th year in DeKalb, he’s set his sights on impending retirement.

It’s still the “helping people” component that keeps him around, however, he said. A little kindness to someone calling 911 for help goes a long way.

“This is what I try to instill in these young kids that come to work here,” Eriksen said. “They are calling you when they’re stressed out, when they’re freaking out at possibly their worst moment. Just help them.”