Christmas on the job

Lolita Harper

“Don’t go that way,” Costa Mesa Fire Battalion Chief Keith

Fujimoto yelled. “Ease up. Don’t make such big movements.” But it was

too late. Firefighter Pete Melgoza had already fallen from the

vehicle and laid motionless for a split second.

“Get up, get up,” his colleagues shouted. “Press X. Hurry up, he’s

beating you.”

His thumbs pounded the controller furiously, but his player didn’t

seem to respond fast enough. Finally, Melgoza’s player was back on

its quad motorcycle and he was again a contender in the Sony

Playstation game ATV 2 Off-Road Fury.

Melgoza and Captain Ron Cloe were the contenders in the ump-teenth

game of the Christmas off-road showdown, in which each firefighter at

Station No. 5 on Vanguard Avenue took his turn at the helm of the

virtual Supercross.

If Cloe had to spend his Christmas at the fire house, he was at

least going to bring his favorite present, he said.

“This was my Christmas present from the wife and kids,” said Cloe,

motioning to the video game. “They were upset that I brought it

here.”

His attitude is representative of most of the Costa Mesa public

safety officials who were assigned to work on Christmas. It’s not the

best of all scenarios but if you have to be stuck at work on a

holiday, you make the most out of it, they concurred.

Thankfully, the Christmas holiday was slow for at least the first

part of the day, which allowed firefighters to take a much-deserved

break from the normally rigorous functions of the job. Except for the

normal chores and “chow duty,” the men were free to enjoy life at the

station, sit out in the sun, grab a bite to eat or challenge Cloe on

the video game.

“This is a major exception just because it’s a holiday,”

Firefighter Jeff Janzen said. “This is definitely not how it is

regularly.”

Normally, Cloe would be home with his family, playing with the

dozens of presents they had just finished unwrapping. This year,

however, he was among his “C shift” family -- the men he works with.

Cloe’s family had to move up their celebration to Christmas Eve.

His 5-year-old daughter was worried because Santa is usually not

scheduled to arrive until midnight Dec. 24 and he wouldn’t have her

presents in time. Cloe and his daughter e-mailed Santa and let them

know that daddy had to work. They asked if Santa could drop by a

little earlier than usual and St. Nick agreed.

“He said we would be first on his list and by the time we got home

from dinner Tuesday, the presents were under the tree,” Cloe said.

Before he left for work this morning, Cloe kissed his family good

bye, wished them a Merry Christmas and grabbed his Playstation 2.

“I have a 14-year-old and a 16-year old,” Cloe said. “I can’t let

them get any better than me.”

With competition like Melgoza, he can’t be improving by that much,

the firefighters teased.

“He totally kicked Pete’s butt,” Fujimoto said.

Across the driveway in the communications building, the outlook

was just as festive but the tone just a little more earnest. Costa

Mesa dispatchers, who are in charge of fielding and assigning calls

to the police and fire departments as well as animal control, were

busy answering the handful of calls for emergency services.

The dispatch office was ornately decorated with garlands hanging

from the walls, colorful Christmas lights and a decorated tree. On

the table was a holiday spread of crackers and cheese, chocolates,

cookies and other munchies to set the holiday tone.

Dispatchers are usually not allowed to eat in the room and must

dress in their civilian uniforms. But on Christmas there was a

festive spread of goodies and the women were dressed in comfortable

jeans, T-shirts and sweaters.

“After all, it is Christmas,” they rationalized.

Senior dispatcher Chris Masuzumi was on duty as well as her

husband, who is a Costa Mesa firefighter.

“I get to tell him where to go and what to do and I get paid to do

it and he can’t say no,” Masuzumi joked.

With both the Masuzumi bread-winners employed in public safety,

they understand that working holidays is just part of the job.

“It’s no fun but it happens,” said Masuzumi, who was set to host a

family dinner later that evening while her husband was still at work.

Costa Mesa Police officer Greg Scott, who checked in for his

Christmas shift at noon, said he kept busy patrolling the streets,

making sure the dark storefronts stayed secure. While the holidays

are typically slower than other days, it is still very important to

make the police presence known, especially with so many businesses

closed for the day, Scott said.

While Scott was busy keeping order on the Costa Mesa streets, his

wife -- who also works in law enforcement at “another department” --

was at home, relaxing, he said.

Although he had to leave her alone on Christmas, Scott said the

spirit of the holiday could not be encompassed in just one day. His

wife had the past week off, so he has gotten to enjoy her company

more than usual.

“This whole week has been like Christmas,” Scott said smiling. “We

exchanged a couple of gifts, shared cards from friends and she made

me a special coffee drink before I left for work this morning.”

The Scotts’ best gift won’t arrive until early summer anyways, as

the couple is expecting their first child in June. Public safety

professionals also had their minds on shorter-term anticipations,

such as the likely increase in emergency calls as the day wore on.

Costa Mesa Firefighter Bob Reynolds, of Station No. 3 on Park

Avenue, said the calls for service generally increase as the alcohol

consumption mounts.

“Let’s hope that won’t be the case today,” he said Wednesday.

In the meantime, he and his colleagues were preparing a full blown

Christmas feast with turkey potatoes, cranberries and “all the

fixings.”

“We would normally be home, having a great time with family but

we’ll have a great time here today too,” Reynolds said.