Page 46 - South Mississippi Living - July, 2022

A Blaze of Glory: FIREFIGHTERS
After 12 years as a Navy Seabee, Julia Morrison is pleased with her second career as a Gulfport fireman. She is assigned to station nine on Dedeaux Road, a new state-of-the-art facility that’s very busy.
“We get more calls than the other stations, seven to 10 calls per shift,” she says of the station that’s located near Interstate 10 and Highway 49. “Ninety percent of them are medical – accidents, heat related emergencies, vehicle rollovers. We have EMTs
and a paramedic here so we can do everything. Due to smoke detectors and other technology there aren’t as many fires anymore, but I’ve been involved with some big fires.” Morrison’s arrives for her shift at 7:10 a.m. “We begin by talking with the last shift about what they did, their calls, the condition of the truck, etc.” she said of a typical day. “Then we get out the gear and figure out where we’ll work. There are seven people on duty. After we check the truck, we make the most important decision of the day: what we’ll have for lunch. Some of us are better cooks than others.”
Currently, station nine has a new
recruit and the whole staff is going through the training book to instruct him and to keep everyone refreshed. Morrison likes that recruits rotate to learn from different people.
The 24-hour shift ends at 7:30 the next morning and is followed with 48 hours off duty.
Working out to stay in tip-top shape is a part of every day. Staying fit is not a problem for Morrison who grew up with two older brothers and participated in softball, basketball and volleyball in high school. “I’ve always been health conscious,” she said. “I also practice volleyball with my 12-year-old daughter Jordan, and I hope she’ll follow in my footsteps.”
This firefighter has no problem being called a fireman, noting that the dictionary describes fireman as a “person who fights fires.” She has no regrets about her career decision.
Morrison was reared in Pennsylvania and attended the University of Washington for engineering. She came to Gulfport for Navy training and fell in love with the area. “I will never not live by water,” she affirms. Her husband, Rob, recently retired from the Navy.
story by Lynn Lofton
photo courtesy of the City of Gulfport
46 | July 2022
www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living
Julia Morrison.
Heroes