SALISBURY, Md.- As many people around Delmarva spent time enjoying the holiday on Labor Day Monday that was not the case for some local law enforcement, medical professionals and firefighters.
"Crime, crime is 360 unfortunately around here," said Officer Eric Baker with the Salisbury Police Department, who had been on his shift since 8 a.m. until 8 o'clock night. "So you always have to be here, like I said we are always here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week."
Baker said Labor Day is usually pretty quiet for the department, except sometimes when there is a downpour the way it was on Monday.
"I think the weather impacts a lot of how the general public reacts to a lot of things," Baker said.
Working on the holiday was nothing new for Dr. Brian Desaulniers, who is an emergency room physician at Peninsula Regional Medical Center. He said even on a holiday, it his job to make sure community resources are available.
"Holidays tend to be very busy, as do the days following a holiday we will certainly be busy tomorrow. We definitely try to increase our staffing to meet that demand," said Desaulniers.
Salisbury Fire Station 16's newest firefighter Collins Brown said protecting the public comes before anything else.
Brown said that after all, public service is an all day, every day kind of job.
"Working in the fire service obviously our services are provided 24/7," he said. "Emergencies happen every day. They don't take a break for a holiday so neither do we."
"At the end of the day our job is just to maintain the peace and protect the public in anything and any situation that comes across our path," Baker said.
Baker said compared to the Labor Day holiday, the police department typically sees an increase in calls for service on Memorial Day and Fourth of July holidays.
Collins Brown at Salisbury Fire Station 16. (Photo: WBOC)
