CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — While most may spend their Christmas Eve last-minute shopping, cooking, or gathering with family, first responders like Bryan Sayles and his Fire Station #1 crew stay prepared to serve the community.
"Normally when we're making calls, it's usually for someone having a pretty bad day. For us to be able to help somebody out, that's part of the calling of what we do, so I'm pretty grateful to be able to do that," Sayles said.
While waiting to be dispatched to a scene, Sayles' crew started their Christmas Eve shift by sharing breakfast, something that is a weekend tradition at Fire Station #1. Even while at work, Sayles says families still make time to see their loved ones during their shift.
"Normally on the holidays, our families tend to stop by, and they'll bring us goodies and stuff like that, but for us, we just kind of hang out and wait for a call to drop," he said.
Duty calls, and while being away from family on the holidays may be difficult, Sayles says coming to work with a team he can trust makes a big difference.
"I have a great team. We're always helping each other out and we have good comradery. I think that's important to have. I would say this is like a brotherhood for me. I call them my second family. We're with these guys for a third of our life, you know? It's a good way to look at it," he said.
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