February 3, 2007

Crews still on duty despite Super Bowl

       The streets should be nearly empty after kickoff Sunday.  While most of central Indiana huddles around television screens in homes and bars for the big game, some public servants will be on the clock. Police officers will patrol deserted streets, and firefighters can only hope they don't get called out.  Police and firefighters working Sunday night plan on taping the game and view their Super Bowl shifts as another sacrifice to duty.  The Franklin Police Department ranks public safety as its priority no matter the occasion, Chief John Borges said.  "It's part of what we do, and a ball game is no less severe than missing Christmas," he said.  Firefighters can watch the game at their stations until the alarm sounds. Then the TiVo gets switched on as they jump into action.

         Greenwood firefighters plan to have a cookout with hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad and snacks. Colts banners hang throughout the main station, and a Colts flag rustles in the wind on the flag pole.  The station's main ladder truck also carries a Colts flag on calls.  Capt. Chris Harrell, who shrugs off Super Bowl duty after 18 years of service, hopes the decorations can stay up at least a week after a Colts title.  "The Super Bowl was ... against the Patriots," said Harrell, who was grateful to catch the AFC Championship Game on television at home. "This is just a formality."

         The Franklin Fire Department pooled money and ordered blue T-shirts with the fire department patch and the inscription "Go Colts!" A pot of chili may be in order on game day, Capt. Richard Lashbrook said.  Lashbrook has attended 47 consecutive Indianapolis 500s, taking time off when necessary. He's content to risk watching the Super Bowl on the big screen at the station house, hoping for a quiet day.  "We'd prefer we never had to go out on any runs," he said. "Every time we turn a wheel, somebody somewhere's hurt."  Fearing a busy night, Lashbrook urges residents to drink responsibly during and after the game. Some fans put others at risk on the road when they celebrate with too much alcohol, he said.  Lashbrook sympathizes with the impulse to celebrate. He describes himself as an excitable fan who will even throw things around the house after a bad call.  He'll have to rein it in at the fire station.  "I like to raise hell, screaming and hollering," he said. "I've been asked why I care so much when I have no money riding on the game."

         White River Township Fire Department Lt. Joe Green, who works Sunday, considers himself a dedicated fan, having stuck with the Colts through years of early playoffs exits and the nagging of naysayers.  As a teenager, he greeted the Colts at the airport after every away game during their 3-13 season 1997.  "I've missed many Super Bowls before, but none that mattered to me," he said.  Green strongly considered taking time off to guarantee he could watch the game the entire way through, but he's saving his vacation time because his wife is expecting a child.  The White River Township fire station has a digital video recorder. If the men go out on a run, they'll pick up the game where they left off.  Text messages or phone calls may clue the firefighters into the game's outcome, if they're out responding to an emergency. But Green hopes they won't talk. He wants the men to experience history unfold together, even if it's from a recording.

         Police and firefighters agree that duty comes first, no matter how big the game.  "I treat this one the same as any other," said Sgt. Eric Cox, who commands the evening shift at the Johnson County Sheriff's Office on Sunday. "It's no different than any other day."  (Reprinted with permission from the Daily Journal).
 
   

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