VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — While communities spent Thanksgiving at the dinner table surrounded by family and friends, not everyone was off the clock.
That includes Master Firefighter Sean Liebold, who spent the holiday at Station 7 in Virginia Beach.
“I grew up in the firehouse and Thanksgiving and Christmases at the firehouse were normal to us," Liebold told 13News Now.
Firefighting runs in Liebold's blood. He said his passion for public service comes from his father, Chuck.
“When my dad pinned his badge onto my chest at the firefighter graduation," Liebold recalled. "My dad was the guy I grew up with. He was my hero. To see that smile on his face said a lot.”
When many families gathered sat at the dinner table to carve turkey, Liebold and his fellow firefighters were on-call. For him, Thanksgiving is just another day on the job.
“Everybody thinks that everything’s shut down, the fire department’s still up and running and it’s just a normal Thursday for us," Liebold said.
Still, the father of three says being apart from his family isn’t easy.
“It’s always hard to be away from your family during times like this, but it’s just kind of what we do," he said. "It's the job we signed up for."
Liebold said he’s lucky to have a tight-knit work family to share the holidays with.
“We spend a third of our lives with the twelve people day in and day out. So, we always have that affectionate work family," he said.
Firefighters aren’t the only ones spending the holidays working. Hospitals, police stations and emergency dispatch centers remain fully staffed to name a few.