Why does the emergency equipment sometimes run with lights and siren, then just turn them off?
A. On occasion, the fire engine and ambulance will be driving with lights and sirens and then suddenly turn them off–perhaps only to turn into a parking lot or side street. Be assured that when this happens it means we have received information through our 911 dispatchers that the caller or incident is no longer a dire emergency. It is what we call “being cancelled”. Any or all of the apparatus may continue to drive to the call or perhaps some will return to the Fire Station. Back to top Q. Why do firefighters work 24 shifts? Wouldn’t 8 or 12 hour shifts be better? A. Watertown firefighters currently work 24 hours on duty, followed by 48 hours off duty. This shift schedule is by far the most common for paid fire departments in the United States. Some large metropolitan fire departments work 8 and 12 hour shifts, but this type of shift schedule wouldn’t work very well for Watertown. Not only does it require more personnel (and thus more money) to use such a schedule, but Watertown’s de
