Lubbock TX Firefighters Police Rotate Split Christmas Holiday Shifts

The Christmas holiday is a time when families and friends come together.

But for anyone working as a first responder, the world doesn't simply come to a stop for them to spend that time with their loved ones.

Matt "Stewie" Dawson, a Lubbock Fire Rescue firefighter/paramedic with Station 2, said there have been three different shifts that fire fighters rotate for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in his past four years.

"So each year, it kind of rotates between the shifts," he said. "It depends on which holiday it is."

Dawson said it is harder for him to work Christmas because he has a 4-year-old, but he's been able to adjust his family's schedule to accommodate.

"Santa Claus comes early to first responders," he added.

As for anyone working the law enforcement side, officers have to be able to adapt, said LPD Officer R. Diaz, a six-year veteran.

"We are fortunate enough here with the command staff where they will change the areas that we work," he said.

For example, if officers usually work a certain side of Lubbock, Diaz said the command center will assign them to work on the same side of town where they live so that they can stop in and see their family in between calls.

"It's adapting, is what it is, and making the best of it," he added.

Although it may be difficult to not be around family, working on Christmas Day is a privilege, said Dawson.

"Because you get to be there for people with their families in their emergencies," he said.

In other cases, Dawson said, first responders can play a role in comforting people who would otherwise be by themselves on Christmas.

For instance, if an elderly person calls in for breathing problems, sometimes responders will stay on the scene for 45 minutes just to give them someone to talk to, said Dawson.

"That's part of the job," he said. "I enjoy doing it. You just gotta be able to go in there and relate to everybody. You're just there to reach out to somebody in a time of need."

Lubbock's emergency dispatchers have to find different techniques to help out anyone calling into 911 on Christmas.

"We make sure and ask people if they are OK with dispatch to hang up," said Judy Salazar, a six-year dispatcher. "The holidays tend to bring on a darker side."

She recalled times when people who are homebound, often the elderly, don't have family to come by and look after them. Sometimes it's people who are homeless and the holidays remind them of past times when they had family to support them. Salazar said it can be difficult trying to strike a balance between meeting their needs and the needs of her job as an emergency dispatcher.

"There are calls that they just feel like rambling on," said Salazar. "We try really not to do that."

Because first responders have to deal with any and every situation for the Christmas holiday, it makes it much easier to have a good support system - from the camaraderie of her fellow dispatchers to the understanding and flexibility from her family.

Salazar said her family usually works around her schedule to celebrate Christmas, which said said she has worked nearly every year since she started about six years ago.

She said everyone should always remember to be more giving, as well as selfless for the holiday.

"Make sure you thank your first responders," said Salazar.