BOZEMAN — Labor Day is a holiday that most Americans look forward to because they get a long, three-day weekend. But have you ever thought of those who don’t get Labor Day off? Or any holiday for that matter.
“We work 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” says Gary O’Brien, a captain with Bozeman Fire.
O’Brien is currently on day two of his 48-hour shift, which also so happens to be Labor Day.
I asked him, “If you had today off, what would you be doing?”
O’Brien told me, “Today? I’d be barbecuing with the family on the river. Maybe getting our rifles sighted in, or our bows sighted in for the upcoming hunting season."
But Captain O’Brien doesn’t have today off.
“We understand what we’re getting into when we sign up. But like many other things we adjust. We adjust with our family life and our personal life so we can come in and serve the citizens and the guests of Bozeman,” says O’Brien.
And Bozeman Fire isn’t the only one working on holidays. Brett Logan is a patrol sergeant with Bozeman Police. I caught up with him in the middle of his 14-hour shift on Labor Day.
I asked how he felt about working this holiday. Sergeant Logan told me, “It doesn’t bother me. I know what I got into. The hard part is with families. They sometimes don’t understand why we’re continuously working on weekends, holidays. Especially our small children. It takes them a while to understand why dad's away.”
Sergeant Logan tells me if he had today off like most of the nation, he’d be out recreating with his family.
But, he knows, “The city never sleeps. We all sign up for it knowing that likely at some point in your career you’re going to work nights, weekends, holidays. But, it’s a drive to do better for the community,” says Sergeant Logan.
And although Labor Day tends to mark the end of summer, this year it was a smoky one. So, Captain O’Brien and Bozeman Fire want to remind everyone:
“People are still camping, and people are still recreating. But the weather doesn’t stop, right? So, there is a red flag warning. We just like to remind people to keep safety in mind, because stuff happens quick."
