A glimpse inside Brooklyn Park’s West Fire Station

According to Brooklyn Park Fire Captain Max Bielefeld, there is no such thing as an average day at the fire station.

Each firefighter is on their own three-week schedule of on-days and off-days, working anywhere from 24 to 72 hours in a row. A red light and high-pitched chime often interrupt sleep, dinner or a workout to let the crew know they have to suit up. Depending on the type of call, dispatches can look vastly different from one another.

“Everything from medicals and car accidents to fires and hazardous materials incidents: We say we're in the 'bad day' business,” Bielefeld said. “If someone’s having a bad day, we get called to try and help make that day better.”

While there is rarely a rhyme or reason to what type of call comes in, Firefighter Brittany Peterson said the frequency of calls tends to ebb and flow. “A lot of our calls come in late at night or early in the morning,” she said.

On Sept. 26, the Brooklyn Park West Fire Station’s three-person crew was dispatched to nine different incidents. The Sun Post tagged along for three.

Medical incident

It was around 1 p.m. when a possible medical emergency came through on the scanner. The call came from an adult day care center just a few blocks away, allowing the crew to arrive in minutes.

All Brooklyn Park firefighters are EMS certified, and Peterson said they have a lot of the necessary equipment to help in medical situations.

After the firefighters measured the person’s vitals and asked her some questions, she seemed to be in the clear. The incident was soon transferred over to an ambulance crew to determine whether she still wanted to go to the hospital.

Lift assist

As Engine 3 stopped by the Central Fire Station to pick up extra supplies, a request for a lift assist came over the scanner. The three firefighters dropped everything and headed to an apartment building in southwest Brooklyn Park.

A man was wedged between a toilet and the wall.

“You don’t have to come in, it’s not pretty,” Peterson told the Post.

Once the man was helped back to his walker, the crew headed to the fire truck to disinfect. It was an especially lengthy process for Bielefeld, who Peterson described as a "germaphobe."

Possible gas leak

Around 3 p.m., the west station crew responded to a caller who reported a strange smell in their townhome. Peterson prepared a gas monitoring device on the ride over, and upon arrival, Bielefeld and Probationary Firefighter Ray Satnik went in wearing full gear.

The gas monitor didn’t report anything dangerous, and after a full check of the building, Bielefeld said the smell was likely fresh paint.

“Still, we have to treat every call as if it could be something dangerous,” Peterson said.

For this call, Satnik got behind the wheel – it was one of the first times he drove the fire engine.

“If a new driver hops the curb twice during one call, they owe the rest of us ice cream,” Bielefeld said. By the end of the day, Satnik owed his crew some frozen treats.

Training

Bielefeld said downtime at the station is often filled by some sort of training. “Sometimes it's really heavy hands-on training, sometimes it's training we do online, PowerPoint videos we might have to watch,” he said.

With Satnik training to be a fire engine driver, the crew makes sure to run drills specifically designed to help Satnik check things off his list. On Sept. 26, they ran some fire hose drills.

Bielefeld said many people are surprised at the type of calls firefighters receive.

"I just went to a wedding with my wife, and one of her friends that I hadn’t talked to a whole lot was asking me about the job,” he said. "He was like, ‘Oh, I didn't realize you guys did all that.’”

Bielefeld thinks it is important for the public to know they are there to help with more than just fires. “We get as involved with the community as much we can so they can better understand the services we provide.”