The Emergency Services Are Basically Just Lawn Care With Sirens
What an Afternoon of Mowing Taught Me About Loving This Job
Last week, I spent nearly three hours mowing my lawn. Three. Hours.
Having ignored it for an embarrassingly long time, my back yard was a bona fide jungle, and I seriously considered renting a herd of hungry goats to take care of it for me. It was truly out of control. But while I fully own the responsibility, I feel like it wasn’t entirely my fault: I’ve been picking up extra shifts and responsibilities with my fire and EMS departments, so the lawn took a back burner to things that felt more important.
On this day, while I was pushing the lawnmower through grass higher than my knees and cursing myself for letting it go so long (AGAIN), I started to think about my work in emergency services and how much it has in common with lawn care.
Yep. Lawns. Stick with me, here.
They Always Need Attention at the Worst Possible Time
Lawns don’t care that it’s 100 degrees outside or how tired you are after a swing, you still have to mow. And emergencies don’t care that it’s 3 a.m. or you just sat down with your lunch — when the tones drop, you go. Both lawns and emergencies demand attention exactly when you’d rather be doing literally anything else.
And yet, when you’re out there sweating through it, you realize: this work matters. This is what keeps things alive.
Outsiders Think It’s Easy
Your apartment-dwelling brother-in-law says, “how hard could it be to just mow it every week?” And I’ve heard members of the public say, “EMS is just driving an ambulance” or “how hard could it be to spray some water on a fire?”
Meanwhile, you’re knee-deep in crabgrass… or a multi-car pileup. Both jobs look simple until you’re the one holding the hose.
There’s Always That One Patch That Refuses to Cooperate
Every lawn has that stubborn bald spot that won’t grow no matter what you do. Every department has that one piece of temperamental equipment, that one weird policy, or that one person who just won’t get with the program.
You water, fertilize, train, retrain… still patchy. But you keep at it, because that’s what caretakers do.
The Neighbors Are Watching
Let your lawn go wild, and you’ll get a letter from the HOA or the weed commissioner. Let your department slip up, and suddenly the news cameras are rolling.
Both are public-facing, and both come with a side of judgment. But here’s the flip side: when your lawn looks sharp, or your crew nails a call, people notice that too. And that pride? It’s fuel.
It’s a Lot of Repetition
Mow, trim, water, repeat. Train, respond, restock, repeat.
It’s not glamorous, but it’s the rhythm that keeps things alive. And if you skip a step? You’ll pay for it later. (Ask anyone who’s ever pencil whipped a rig check and then found themselves on scene with a missing piece of gear. That’s the emergency services version of forgetting to winterize your lawn mower.)
Sometimes You’ve Got to Whack the Weeds
Lawns need edging. Departments need discipline. Enough said.
It’s Never Done
You don’t “finish” a lawn, you keep it up. Same with emergency services. There’s no “all caught up” day: there’s always another call, another drill, another piece of equipment to check.
And weirdly enough, that’s part of the appeal. Because if it were ever “done,” what would we do with ourselves?
When It’s Good, It’s Beautiful
A well-kept lawn makes a house feel like home. A well-run department makes a community feel safe.
Both take sweat, time, care, and — oftentimes — frustration. But when you step back and look at the result, you feel proud. You see the kids playing in the yard, or a family waving as you drive the freshly washed rig back to quarters, and you realize: this is why we do it.
The Heart of It
Lawns and emergency services both look ordinary until you realize how much they matter. A lawn isn’t just grass; it’s where life happens. And emergency services aren’t just sirens and uniforms: they’re the safety net, the reassurance that when things go wrong, someone will show up.
We don’t do this job because it’s easy. We do it because, like a lawn, it’s worth the work. It’s worth the sweat, the late nights, the endless maintenance. Because when it’s cared for, it makes everything around it better.
So yeah, emergency services are like lawns. Always demanding, sometimes messy, and never truly finished. But they’re also a source of pride, a reflection of who we are, and a reminder that the best things in life never really “done” — they’re tended to and cared for, day after day.
And if you ever doubt that, just look at your lawn… or your crew. Both will remind you: the work never ends, but neither does the reward.
