Shelby Fire

It was 15 years ago when Kenneth Crews interviewed to become a Shelby firefighter.

He vividly remembers being asked by the interviewer, Jerry Snyder, if he was prepared to work holidays.

Left: Crews

Fast-forward to today and Crews, Battalion Chief Snyder, Brian Cobb, and Don Allen of Shelby Station #1 were just four of the dozen Shelby firefighters that spent Thanksgiving evening away from home.

According to Snyder, if a firefighter isn't prepared to sacrifice holidays away from his or her family then they shouldn't be a firefighter.

"That's the nature of the job," he said.

While it's sometimes not possible to have the traditional holiday at home surrounded by friends and family, firefighters - and other first-responders - learn to adapt.

Snyder said each of Shelby's three stations had something going on today to celebrate Thanksgiving: several family members had planned to visit Station #2, Station #3 spent some of the day cooking turkeys, and Station #1 ate earlier in the day at the EMS station next door to the Grover Street fire house.

Cobb was just finishing up Thanksgiving leftovers when I spoke to him in the kitchen. He said, because of his schedule, he celebrated yesterday with his parents who also live in Shelby. Chicken Pie, green beans, but no turkey.

"It's too dry for me," he smiled.

Left: Cobb

Don Allen, who also works as a part-time Shelby Police Officer, was one of the several who enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal, with "everything," at the EMS station earlier in the day.

He said he stopped by Ingles earlier to pick up some food to go with what was being served at the EMS station. That wouldn't have been possible if it was Christmas; everything would have been closed.

So is it more difficult to work Christmas?

"Yeah," he said. "Oh yeah."

Allen, who spent some of the evening watching the Dallas Cowboys game, said he felt obligated to work out after eating so much. If he didn't exercise, he feared it would come back to haunt him.