Interviews with the North West Chicago Fire Department: Battalion 11 

By: Faustyna Turek

March . 5 . 2024

The North West Side of Chicago is one of the most tranquil and sweet communities you will ever come across. Elderly holmes,  thrift shops, cafes –  The residents  of Norwood Park live their lives in joy and peace knowing that safety is right around the corner.

 Across from the Norwood Park Metra Station is a sweet old brick building with two grand red  garage doors.  Above them,  the words “Chicago Fire Department” are engraved out of a white painted metal.  The American and Chicago Flag guard the entrance door. 

I walked into this  with absolutely no knowledge of what a fire department truly does. I’m actually really  relieved that I’ve never had to  deal with the department as it is quite common, where I live , for them to be called.  Two major health institutions:  Resurrection Hospital and the Resurrection Senior Village are in close proximity to my house. The blaring sound of fire trucks and ambulances have become white noise at this point and basically every kid in  Elementary school had a parent in the police or fire department. 

 To my surprise no one was standing at the entrance of the door and walking in no one even knew I was inside.  I was suddenly consumed by anxiety as everything seemed very intimidating. The building has a slight smell of ash and gasoline and every corner space had  a  cooped up  worn-down couch or chair in it,  just begging to be replaced.  I didn’t have the courage to say “Hello?” really loud as I was scared to alarm someone or get in trouble upon my clear trespassing.

“Hello!” I exclaimed as I entered a more welcoming kitchen space where Victor was sitting at the large dining table watching  television. On the right side of me  was Chris who was making  pico de gallo or “Pico de delicious” ( It was very delicious). The firefighters live a  college-like lifestyle as they assign one of themselves  the role of “chef” everyday. I sat right across from Victor who was perfectly alright with me interviewing him.  Victor has a very nonchalant vibe but was obviously a very careful talker. He really wanted to make sure he wasn’t saying too much but also made sure that he sounded good. A part of him was slightly confused as to the purpose of the interview which Is my fault because I basically jumped them.  He told me he was born in the West side of Chicago and that before wanting to be a firefighter he wanted to do sports. During his free time; however,  he is really interested in graphic design and animation. “Naruto” is one of his  favorite anime. About 10  minutes later the rest of the fire fighters came in and upon introducing myself something really interesting struck me. They all sat around me  at the table like one large family, each of them sat in a spot to get comfortable. The Captain Paul Burns was notably different then the rest. He was much older  and looked much wiser. Yet had a very midwest childish humor to himself. I could tell he was the “cool” kid in the 70s.  He took the middle chair at  the table which automatically determined his status. While the group interview was going on I felt like I was surrounded by brothers and older cousins who were also very curious about me.  They made many jokes which I couldn’t quite hear since they were all laughing and talking  across each other but as long as I showed a  large smile and laughed a few times everything was going very casually.  My first question to the whole group was completely random and looking back probably wouldnt start with it but it created a deeply emotional conversation which could slowly be lightened up as the conversation went on:

“Do you believe in God? Or religion?”

“Yes!”

“God yes, religion no.”

“Yeah”. 

Do you bring religion into your job, let’s say something tragic happens, do you say a prayer?”

“Personally, no.” Chris stated.

“ a moment of silence”  Victor followed.

“Do you hold any feelings towards them (People who pass away)?” 

“I get sad you know” 

“When you see the family deal with it..yeah you feel bad for the family.” The Captain said.

“We do a good job of compartmentalizing  it.” Tommy said.

“If we didn’t separate ourselves from it we would all be fu**ked.” Captain Burns explained. 

“Have you ever cried on the job?”

“I’ve teared up a few times’ Chris said

“Not yeettt” Tommy said.

“If I lost co-workers then yes” Victor added

“ I know this is very personal, but how many people have you guys lost here, on the job?”

“On the fire department,  last year we had five.” Captain looked up while counting.

“So because of that you guys form close friendships here right?”

“Oh yeah.”

 “Second family.”

 “it is a family environment” they all deeply expressed. 

I was curious so I asked how many of them  sleep there a night which added up to about 13.  They are on the job 48 hours a week in shifts so there’s always someone there, even during Christmas and New Years. “Never a closed day”.

I then decided to ask them a little bit more about their personal lives since being scheduled for work for 2 days in a row seemed a little hectic, especially since some of them were talking about being married. They explained that it actually works quite well and that their week is split up in such a comfortable way, they get to spend time with their family for a half a week and for the other half they work.  They also explained to me that on their time during the day when they don’t have to do anything they do leisurely activities  like eat, watch t.v, talk, work out at their mini- gym or sleep. Their bedroom is quitemurky and gray, it almost feels like a sleep away camp. It is unique to see the bedroom because it is quite small and being in it you see how the firefighters dont get much privacy. Bed- next- to- bed- next -to – divider- next -to -bed next- to -bed -next- to- wall. The house itself and the bedrooms don’t really have any symbols of character or personality which really does show that the firefighters are there to work.

“Who do you look up to?” 

This question was flooded with answers that represented the fire fighters as very respectful towards each other, they all agreed that they look up to their superiors as they know that Captain Burns and other chiefs know the most and have the most experience.  Captain Burns let me know that he was proud of the fact that the people whose lives he saved are the same people walking around today, often unaware as to who saved them. 

“Even with all that reward that we got, i fu**I hated every minute of it.” Captain Burns said. 

This really shows how hard the job is and how much work it really requires. 

“What is something you don’t like doing every time you get called on the job”

“Honestly gross houses.” 

“You would be surprised how many of your neighbors hoard and live in filth.” 

This is honestly something that really stuck with me from the interview as at first I took it as a bit insensitive but then realized that firemen see this type of stuff every day and they don’t really sulk on the sad or sensitive, they sort of move past that and think in a very black and white way which to me is a reflection on how they handle their mental health. I consider that valid. Can a mentally unhealthy person judge another mentally unhealthy person?  Id say its okay. 

“Its hard for me to understand that you guys are mentally okay.”I said.

“We’re not!”Blurbed out the Captain

“I think it’s the A Line personality. Police, firemen, military. You can see those A personalities there.”

 “There’s probably people on the job that don’t have that and probably struggle more than others to get through that.” 

“I’m assuming that you guys don’t go to therapy.”

 “This is like our therapy.” 

“Who is someone you would go to if you can’t get through something?”

 “counselors.” 

“Last day we had a really big fire, on Fulton and Western, a 10 and a half hour call,  the point is a rabbi came in the middle of the night  3:30-4 in the morning , he came on scene, probably 50 plus firemen and handed out candy… That alone is enough.” 

 After every serious comment the laughs and smiles naturally filled the room, Bobby talked about how he’s the “character” and  brings humor with him and spreads it because it really helps the house.

“Has someone ever dropped off like a child?”

“No, but I’ve seen a chicken get dropped off.” Bobby remembered.

“What did you do with it?”

“We rangled it up and cooked it!”

I couldn’t stop thinking about how funny it would be to see a bunch of firefighters try to take care of a chicken while they are on the job. The interview  ended with Tommy and Bobby giving me a tour of the fire house.

I got to see the inside and out of a fire truck and put on a fireman suit.  I had an amazing experience with the firemen and have learned a lot by just observing and talking to them. Something that deeply stuck out to me was how they lost their sense of feeling towards tragedy and how that showcases what seeing death and sadness often does to you..it numbs you. Whether or not it’s a good thing I do not know, whatever it is I know that it’s a coping mechanism and firemen continue to keep us safe which only some people know how to do. Im grateful for the experience.