Working on Christmas Day

A theme in many Christmas songs is simply being home for the holiday.
Unfortunately, duty keeps some from being with those they love on this special day.
Twelve members of the Abbeville Fire Department are among those working on Christmas day. They began their 24-hour shift at 6 a.m. this morning.
For Ralph Hutchinson, a 27-year veteran of the department, this will not be his first Christmas spent at the station.
“I have worked quite a few,” Hutchinson said.
“It is hard, especially when you have young kids and you want to be home with them. You want to see them open their presents and things like that.”
Scheduling gatherings prior to Christmas day are part of the equation.
“My family always opened presents on Christmas morning,” Hutchinson said. “That was our ritual. When my sons were really young, you wanted to be there when they saw their new bikes or wagons, or whatever.
Hutchinson’s sons, Edwards and Myles, are both in high school now.
Byron Vollmer, who will hit his one-year anniversary with the department on Dec. 28, is working his first Christmas in uniform. This is also the fist Christmas for his six-month-old daughter, Gracie.
“It is tough to be away,” Vollmer said a few days before Christmas. “We are going to do things with the family on Christmas Eve, before I come to work. We are going to go to the in-law’s on Christmas Eve and spend most of the day there. Then we will go to my aunt’s, that night.”
Vollmer’s wife, Lauren, said she understands the circumstances.
“We will get plenty of time to celebrate,” Lauren Vollmer said. “It’s special.
“He’s doing what he loves.”
That is being a firefighter. And the fact that it is Christmas does not eliminate the possibility of the firemen having to spring into action.
“You have to treat it like any other day,” Hutchinson said. “Nothing changes about it, job wise.
“You have to remain as prepared on Christmas as you would on any other day.”
That is not to say the firemen can’t enjoy the day if there is down time.
“We will cook and eat,” Hutchinson said. “It’s like a family. We have a lot of good cooks in the fire department, so we get together to see what we want to do.
“We are going to cook something good.”
Vollmer said that is an aspect that certainly helps with having to work today.
“You are still with family,” Vollmer said of his fellow firemen.