Five years ago next week, firefighters were faced with a dramatic change in their working practices. The Royal Gazette's Dan Rutstein spends a day with the emergency service team who do much more than just extinguish flames

Lying, battered and bruised in the dark bowels of Fort Scaur, the patient was in desperate need of help.

But within seconds, compassionate and knowledgeable members of the Bermuda Fire Service were in attendance, helmet lamps lighting up the victim of a cruel beating.

Preliminary checks completed, the haemophilic patient was on a back-board and being lifted into the light to be administered with potentially life-saving injections.

No doubt the ambulance was on its way, but a mixture of the Island's tight roads and the relative distance to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital meant that the Emergency Medical Service was to be the difference between life and death.

With the patient strapped into his makeshift stretcher, the boys in yellow (helmets) were ready to lift him into the open air and safety ? but then their Lieutenant stepped in.

"Good work lads," said Port Royal Station Commander Jon Thompson. "That'll do you. Right, let's unstrap him and get out of here."

The training exercise over, the men prepared for their de-brief.

The hour spent rescuing this reporter from a painful and lonely death was just one of the ways the Port Royal Station spend their day when call-outs are thin on the ground.

Cynics, of which there appear to be many in Bermuda, joke that firefighters just spend their time playing cards and working out as the Island's homes fail to set ablaze with any great frequency.

Okay, the Port Royal crew working nine to six yesterday did not receive one single emergency call, but that doesn't mean taxpayers money is going to waste.

Although no public were helped specifically by this four-man crew during the nine hour shift, Bermudians can sleep safe in the knowledge that today, or tomorrow, or whenever this team are next called out ? the men in the fire retardant overalls will be in an even better position to respond.

Cleaning and maintenance duties form a regular part of the firefighter's shift, with checks on the fire trucks and the medical supplies among the more vital tasks.

But training, too, forms a serious chunk of a day's work.

A broken alternator on a fire truck at Dockyard meant a slow start to the day as the previous night's crew were left stranded while pumping out more than six feet of water taken on by the 70 foot shipping vessel Northlight's open valve.

An alternative vehicle was brought up to Port Royal from Hamilton headquarters to replace the original vehicle and the swap over to ensure all necessary equipment was on board to respond to any calls ate away into the morning. But with the phone remaining silent, the training then kicked in.

A half-hour video revision session on how to deal with medical emergencies ensued, followed by a trip to Fort Scaur and an attempted rescue of a (surprisingly) heavy and unresponsive patient.

The afternoon, still bereft of any action out on the roads, saw an 'attack on the tower' drill in which firefighters donned full gear, not as much of a hardship in January as it is in the sweltering heat of summer, and set about dealing with a 'blaze' on the second floor of their training tower.

The crew tore around the corner, leapt out of the vehicle, out came the ladders and the hose and the building was scaled by two men in full breathing apparatus ? the fire side of a job which is proving to be much more than just that.

Five years ago, a revamp of the service saw the firefighters take on a role in the emergency medical care of the Islanders.

As well as just dealing with fire-related incidents, crews at the Port Royal and Clearwater Stations are charged with being the first response to 911 calls.

Although ambulances also get dispatched, where necessary, it is the firefighters who get there first and deal with everything from shortness of breath, to diabetes-related problems (apparently a regular occurrence in Bermuda) and heart attacks.

They also, of course, deal with the medical fall out from road accidents, often having to perform the dual tasks of cutting their patients free from wrecked vehicles while also stabilising their health.

The multi-tasking can make the firefighters incredibly busy, particularly when the cruise ships bring a (road) rash of tourists to the Island's roads.

Yesterday, however, was not a busy day ? but when the calls do come in, these boys are ready to go.