By Sheila Corson
Chronicle staff

     OKANOGAN - For some, a holiday is just another workday.
     For emergency services workers, if the call goes out, they have to go.
     Omak Fire Chief Kevin Bowling said more often than not a call comes in at the most inopportune time on Thanksgiving. Usually it comes right before dinner is ready, after firefighters have been waiting all day to dig in.
     Sometimes the call is quick and simple. Other times, the whole day could be gone.
     On a couple occasions, Bowling said people have lost their homes on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
     Usually, no one has to stay at the fire station, but some have to spend the holidays at LifeLine Ambulance's station, Supervisor Ray Lamb said.
     The rotating schedule doesn't change for major holidays, Lamb said. But, if a worker lives near the station, he or she is allowed to go home to be with families. Some live too far out and have to celebrate the holiday at work.
     Usually, that means cooking a turkey at LifeLineís station on Elmway in Okanogan, and sometimes bringing the family in to have dinner there, Lamb said. Of course, if the call goes out, that means the turkey lies on the table "lonely and waiting" for the workers' return, he said.
     Lamb said he was on duty on Thanksgiving 2007. He ran seven calls that day, never getting to spend more than 45 minutes at a time at home.
     For the Okanogan County Sheriff's Office, dispatch acts as a hub for those working.
     Sheriff Frank Rogers said they never know what might happen, but many try to coordinate times with their families when they can out in the field, but communications people cannot leave.
     Therefore, many families bring food to the dispatch center.
     Thanksgiving traditionally is a busy day for law enforcement, Rogers said. It seems burglars go shopping for Christmas that day. Christmas itself is usually pretty calm.
     While he worked for the Omak Police Department for 13 years, Rogers said he always worked on Thanksgiving, which was OK, because he was kept busy on some crazy, strange nights.
     And although it is no fun to leave family on a holiday, Bowling said it's part of being in emergency services.
     "When there's people in need of help, that's what we're there for," Bowling said.
     With them all in the same boat, Rogers said a camaraderie has formed among all the different emergency services groups "because we're always out there."