"It's like spending Christmas with your second family"

Because for key workers and those on the front line of the emergency services, Christmas Day is just another working day to take care of those who need them the most.

Take a firefighter for example - one minute you could be tucking into a delicious turkey dinner, and the next sprinting out of the door to an emergency, life-threatening situation.

Steve Dearden has been a retained firefighter for Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue in Alford for ten years, and each year two crews take turns to work shifts over the Christmas period - this year is Steve’s turn to be on-call over the festive season.

He said: “This year we weren’t seeing any family due to the coronavirus, we’re trying to keep to the rules.

“It’s a strange thing to be on-call because when you’re new to the service you start knowing that you could be called out at a moment’s notice and you’re always on tenterhooks, but once it becomes familiar its almost like second nature.”

Luckily, Steve hasn’t had any big emergencies to respond to during his years of working over the Christmas period, but said that new year tends to be busier.

“I remember I responded to a fatal road traffic collision on New Year’s Day one year.

“When that happens and you’ve just been spending time with your family, and then you respond to another family that’s going through the worst time of their lives that can really hit home and while you try not to, you can put yourself in their position.”

Steve also works a full-time job as a housing officer, and said that as a retained firefighter, the team always helps each other out if they have important meetings that they can’t miss.

“We all support each other and that’s really important when you’re a retained firefighter - you need to have a good support network around you and we take care of each other.”

Could you be a retained firefighter?