Captain Jeff Hascall has been a Peoria firefighter for 24 years. His son joined the department six months ago.
Before Dustin Hascall joined the department, Jeff Hascall had only been injured once in his career.
That changed a few months ago.
"It was up on Main Street, it was a two and a half story house," Jeff Hascall said. "It was a real tough fire. It was hot and humid out. A really hot fire. Couldn't find it. Kept going back in, working, working, working at it. Finally took its toll on me."
By the time Dustin's engine arrived, Jeff was in an ambulance with heat exhaustion.
Dustin checked on his dad. A couple seconds later, he ran into the burning building.
"I knew that we were racing against the clock with the fire. Still had a lot of smoke, a lot of heat. I knew we had to get back to work."
About 45 minutes later, the fire was extinguished. Jeff Hascall spent a month on medical leave.
During an annual memorial ceremony outside City Hall, Peoria Fire Department captain paramedic Tom Stimeling read the names of more than a dozen Peoria firefighters who have died on the job.
While the most recent death occurred in the 1980s, Stimeling said there have been countless "close calls" since then. Many firefighters sustain physical injuries while on the job, he added.
Then there are the innumerable — and often invisible — emotional sacrifices.
Stimeling said the job of being a firefighter, while rewarding, is dangerous, scary and often saddening. Many firefighters often do not process their trauma until long after a shift ends.
Active fires represent about one-third of all station calls. Though the threat of not making it out of a burning building alive is very much real, Stimeling said that in the moment, adrenaline takes over; firefighters put their own thoughts, fears and emotions aside and pour all of their energy into putting out a fire.
"A lot of times people are unaware of exactly what it is that we go through," he said. "We're not the best story tellers. We don't do the best of putting things onto social media of what we go through. Furthermore, a lot of times, it's not necessarily our story to tell. And a lot of firefighters hold that story in."
Stimeling referenced a Ruderman Family Foundation study showing more firefighters died by suicide in 2017 than in the line of duty.
Dustin Hascall is no stranger to dangerous situations. Before joining the department, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps for four years. He likened the structure of the department and the camaraderie among firefighters to that of the military.
Jeff Hascall said watching his son follow in his footsteps leaves him feeling humbled and proud.
But he has taken time to have conversations with his son about the importance of maintaining one's mental health in the profession. He says having a support system at home is critical.
Having community support helps too, he said.
"You know everything we do, we put our lives on the line for the citizens of Peoria," he said. "Every day we go to work, we may not make it home to our family, so they can see their family."
Dustin Hascall said the public can support firefighters by following the Peoria Fire Department on social media, attending fundraisers and events and being kind to firefighters.
"As simple as sharing the Peoria Fire Department's posts on Facebook can get the word out, the word we're trying to spread," he said.
