Watch now: How Bloomington firefighting teams keep charged and ready for any call

BLOOMINGTON — Food brings families together. Especially firefighting families.

Between inspecting fire engines and ambulances and all of their tools, getting tested for COVID and keeping station quarters tidy, crews with the Bloomington Fire Department are also tasked with keeping themselves fed over a 24-hour shift.

While some pack a lunch or dinner, many pool their money and shop at grocery store, similar to college roommates sharing meals. Except they usually pull up in a big, flashy firetruck at Bloomington’s Kroger on Main Street or the new Aldi off Veterans Parkway in Bloomington.

“We’re three families,” said Battalion Chief Mike Hartwig. “Each shift runs a little bit different and each station runs a little different.”

When it comes to meals, he explained, some shifts will cook a big breakfast in the morning. Others, like some on his A-Shift, will fix lunch.

On Feb. 22, those crews at the Bloomington Fire Department baked ham-and-cheese sliders with tater tots to fuel them for the day.

After another lunch in January, some firefighters tried to take a short power nap, filling up several recliners in the living and dining area. But a precious moment of silence was suddenly cut short by the sharp tones of the station’s public announcement system, calling a few to their next run.

“Truck 1; Medic 3,” a computer-generated voice began to read on a overhead speaker, telling what crews and vehicles need to go where, and for what.

For some of the crews, lunch may have to wait. But their teammates will save them a plate.

Keeping rescue-ready

Firefighters live a third of their lives in a firehouse, Hartwig said. And during those extended hours, they bond as a second family, extending care back and forth. He said they’re there for each others’ birthdays, holidays and anniversaries — and that’s just part of the job.

Hartwig said no one has just one job. Between running out on emergency calls, they have vehicles to clean, tools to track down, and training and classes to attend. Even as they sleep, their gear needs to be ready to go.

It can be a lot, but they get it done as a team.

“If someone’s having a bad day, we just try to pick them up,” the chief said. That might mean offering a fellow firefighter some to time to rest, or to take on some of their duties for them.

That solidarity persists while off duty. Hartwig said over his 21-year career, he’s pitched in to help families move into new homes, finish their landscaping projects, put on a new roof or resolve car issues.

When the call goes out to help crew in need, he said there are “more hands than tasks.”

“I know that there’s 120 guys on this department,” the chief said. “If I needed something, all I have to do is pick up the phone and ask.”

Hartwig said in late January, one of their crew members had complications with knee replacement surgery. The fireman had to go back for more treatment, despite having a limited amount of sick time.

The chief said other firefighters fixed up their work schedules and traded vacation time or gifted sick time to cover his shifts so he won’t miss a check.

“The guys are here for him for that,” Hartwig said, so that firefighter can instead concentrate on getting better.

Outside of the fire service, he said that bond is unique only to police and the military.

He can also speak of similar stories heard from his uncle on the Peoria Fire Department.

“You’re putting yourself out there,” said Hartwig. “You’re doing a dangerous job — profession, so you have to count on each other at all times.”

Dinner table therapy

Hartwig said when the response tones sound off, firefighters’ faces freeze over from the adrenaline rush. 

But part of the thrill and excitement in the fire service, the chief said, is never knowing what the day’s going to bring. He said that’s also part of what brings people into the profession.

“You never want to see people sick and injured. You never want to see houses burn down,” said Hartwig. They are trained to manage those scenes, pull people out of bad events and leave them better off than before, he continued. And that feels like a major accomplishment for him.

However, when a child goes into trauma arrest, Hartwig said they’ll never forget those calls, and the homes they were brought to. He said the memories remain in the back of their heads, and come back to mind when they pass by those spots again.

The chief said on difficult runs, they have to lean on each other. And after a rough call, he said they’ll put on a fresh pot of coffee and “we just talk about it.”

Public Information Officer Eric Davison said firefighters have to see things people shouldn’t have to see. And it can be difficult to go home, and not have fellow crews to open up to.

He added there is peer support for firefighters, and that’s a fairly new addition. It’s a project of the Associated Fire Fighters of Illinois.

Davison said it can be difficult for some firefighters to open up. So, he said, they’re trying to change the old “tough guy” culture, and prevent crews from bottling up their feelings.

Davison said the support group ensures there’s a place, whether inside the station or off duty, for firefighters to be there for each other, and to help connect them with counseling resources if necessary.

Former BFD firefighter Stuart Blade, also a chaplain with Eastview Christian Church, continues to stand by for his old squad through the local support network.

Even as firefighters meet trauma and danger on some calls, others bring new life. Hartwig said while he’s never personally delivered a baby, he’s been on many scenes where the department’s paramedics have. The medic first to take the hand of a newborn is awarded a stork pin.

Hartwig said: “To be there and see a new life brought into the word, it’s super neat.”