SUSAN JACOBSON, Sentinel Staff Writer
Orlando Sentinel (Florida)

They work together. They eat together. And on Thursday night, they watched the Orlando Magic play in the NBA Finals together -- until duty called.

The guys at Fire Station 2 in Parramore -- Orlando's busiest -- were walking distance from the big game at Amway Arena. But as much as they would have liked to cheer courtside, their evening was spent with an ear toward the loudspeaker and a foot out the door.

"Our priority is the citizens," Lt. David Harris said as the crew prepared to chow down before game time.

The 11 firefighters on shift Thursday didn't eat dinner until 8 p.m., an hour before tipoff of the Magic's 99-91 overtime loss to the Lakers. They were about to start two hours earlier but got interrupted by five calls, including a house fire, an unconscious man and a medical emergency. They don't start their meal until everyone can sit down together.

"What we do for a living, it's that trust factor," Lt. Brad Chancey said. "We sit down to eat and it builds bonding."

The evening began with enthusiasm and a nod to a bet with the Los Angeles Fire Department. If the Magic win, the "Pride of Parramore" station will receive 30 LAFD T-shirts. If the Lakers win, 30 OFD shirts will make their way to L.A.

The TV stayed off until game time as the men enjoyed pork loin, mashed red potatoes and fried broccoli that one of them had prepared.

"Usually during dinner time [it] is family time," explained firefighter Todd Angel, referring to his fellow firefighters.

Shortly after the national anthem was sung, calls for service started coming in and the room cleared out, save a couple of men. By 10 p.m., the room filled up again, with the guys sitting around the long wood dining table and staring at the TV, which sits on an upside-down garbage can that serves as a stand. On the wall were tributes to firefighters who have died, pictures of fire scenes and a depiction of the company mascot, Taz, the cartoon Tasmanian Devil.

Two men relaxed in comfy-looking recliners in the adjacent den as they followed the game on a large flat-screen television. From time to time, applause could be heard through the closed door.

Firefighter Dave Rothman, who was making a guest appearance from Station 1, filled the group in on trivia such as Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu's infant daughter and his in-laws, who are said to help with child care. Harris countered with news of Dwight Howard's frequent Twitter updates, which led to a discussion of the value and content of Tweets in general.

Then, back to the game.

"I love that sound," Harris said as Dwight Howard made a free throw with a "whoosh."

The men wandered in and out of the room as they left to file reports, ate and attended to other in-house duties.

"Aw, get up, ya big baby," Chancey called to the TV.

At halftime, they chatted about a horseshoe-like game, but the tension built as the Magic's lead evaporated, then reappeared.

"Whoa!" they shouted in unison as Turkoglu scored.

The calls quieted down toward the end of the night, save one to take a man to the hospital who claimed to have swallowed four AA batteries and another for a tire-rim fire on Interstate 4. Then, with 31 seconds to go, engineer-paramedic Chris Cottrill, who had been intently watching the contest, left wordlessly to respond to a cocaine-overdose call.

He was spared from watching the Magic go down live in flames, which Rothman pronounced "depressing."

But if Cottrill wants to see what he missed, all is not lost.

"It's a good thing we have a DVR," Harris said. "We can rewind it."

Copyright 2009 Sentinel Communications Co.
June 12, 2009