It was Thanksgiving break, but 64 college students stayed in Auburn. They took no time off, continuing to work 24-hour shifts between 48-hour breaks.
The 62 men and 2 women who participate in the city of Auburn's student firefighter program don't take vacations.
"It's a pretty unique program," said Deputy Chief John Lankford. "No one else in the United States has a program like we do."
Lankford said after passing 10 weeks of fire and six weeks of emergency medical technician training, students work as fully fledged firefighters.
While other stations might limit how much students can do, Auburn student firefighters perform the same duties as their non-student counterparts.
Lankford said student firefighters' duties for an average day begin at 7 a.m. when they arrive at the station and relieve the last shift.
The students sweep, mop and vacuum the station. They check their equipment and make sure it's ready for use. At 8:30 a.m., they pause for breakfast.
After that, every day is different. Stephen Jackson, senior in building science with five and a half years experience as a student firefighter, said he enjoys the variety.
"I've had shifts where I do everything," Jackson said. "Fire, wreck, medical calls all day long. You really don't know what you're going to get."
Students go out with the rest of the firefighters, who respond to calls ranging from elderly people who've fallen to house fires. Lankford estimates the department receives 10-15 calls per day.
"We go do just about anything," said Alan McGinty, freshman in nursing. "It might not be the first thing you want to do at 12 o'clock at night, but you at least helped somebody."
McGinty, who graduated from firefighter training Aug. 15, said he enjoys having the opportunity to go on calls and help others.
Some days, the station gets a fire call. Jackson described fighting a fire as "intense." McGinty called it "an adrenaline rush."
Steven Barnes, master's student in public administration and student firefighter, said firefighters enjoy those calls -- even with the danger.
"I think anyone who goes through the training to become a fireman enjoys fighting fires," Barnes said. "I think we all have that same need for adrenaline."
McGinty said he relies on his training when he's on the scene of a fire.
Jackson, the five-year veteran, said training is the difference between safety and the very real dangers of fighting a fire.
To prepare, Jackson said the firefighters often perform drills and training exercises.
Between drills and calls, the student firefighters do chores around the station. Between chores, they do schoolwork.
"If we're not running anything at the moment, we're in that office or this office doing homework," Jackson said.
Barnes said the job has helped him procrastinate less. With 24-hour shifts, Barnes said there is little room for delays.
"You develop very good time-management skills," Barnes said. "It just becomes a balancing act that you just learn to cope with."
Student firefighters also have to balance their work against attending class. Though shifts are 24 hours, Lankford said students are allowed to leave to attend class without needing someone to cover for them.
According to Jackson, the flexibility compares well to other jobs.
"You can't find a job while you're in school or even out of school that works with you as much as Auburn works with us," Jackson said.
Jackson said the flexibility is one reason he's worked as a student firefighter for so long. He said he also appreciates everything he's learned on the job.
"I honestly thought it was fun at first," Jackson said. "It is fun, but it's also extremely valuable work. We get exposed to people at their highs and their lows. If you can work with that, you can work with anything."
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