With 12-hour shifts, it is not uncommon for members to live far away from their detachments. Rumours have it some live what I would call extreme distances away and share an apartment with others to 'hot bunk'.
We worked twenty 12-hour shifts every six weeks.
You only had to "hot bunk" seven times during each six-week cycle.
Firefighters switched from 10 / 14 to 24-hour tours. So, hot bunking is no longer an issue for them.
Our police worked 10 hour day-time, 10 hour evening, and 8 hour night-time. But, from what I understand, it has improved since then.
It's a long way from having to live within your detachment area when I started. It's a little unfair for the communities, particularly smaller ones, and for the members who still live close by.
We had a Residency Requirement to get hired. Even wanted to know what high school you went to before they would let you write the civil service exam. I'm thankful they did, or heaven knows where I would have had to go searching for a job.
You also had to be a city resident to keep your job. But, that requirement ended years ago.
There was talk of re-instating it after 9/11. But, it didn't happen.
If your spouse was a nurse or teacher - golden.
My ex-wife is Director of Quality, Performance, Professional Practice and Chief Nursing Executive at a major downtown hospital.
Did a lot better in her profession than I did in mine.
Now, many careers demand proximity to large urban centres.
Maybe a lot of young people grew up watching TV shows like "Adam-12" and "EMERGENCY!". I bet alot them wanted to work in a big city.
I remember sitting in school and seeing the emergency services racing by, and always wondering, "Where are they going? Probably some place more interesting than here!"
go on...
