ME AND MY JOB: Catherine Foley hears from firefighter David Lee about his day-to-day work

David Lee is on cleaning duty in the fire depot. It's a quiet morning until a distress call comes in and suddenly a cacophony of bells ring out throughout the station.

Lee moves quickly. He runs to the pole, sliding down to the next floor. No time is wasted.

Every firefighter is on the alert. Whoosh, they're out the door and the fire engine, clanging and ringing like a circus horse, is whizzing out and up the street.

This job, says Lee, is "for anyone who doesn't want to do the normal run-of-the-mill job; who doesn't want to do the same thing day in and day out. There's more job satisfaction.

"Yes, there's a rush of adrenalin because you have to act quickly." Even if he's on the phone, he'll just drop it.

"Generally speaking the job is different to anything else." He applied to the firefighting service having worked as a manager in Crown Paints for a number of years after his Leaving Cert. He starting training in July 2000. He's been "operational" since February last year.

"It's just something I always wanted to do," he says. "When the call comes in, it goes to central control at Tara Street Station. The appliances are triggered and the bells in the station ring. There are different sounding bells for each appliance."

When the shift starts, his job varies depending on the duties he's assigned. The day starts with a parade when all the fire-fighters, dressed in their fire gear, line-up for inspection.

Then each fire-fighter is given his duties. "After that you check all the equipment to make sure that it's in order. You check the appliances and the breathing apparatus that you have. Then you do your duties, helping in the mess or cleaning around the station."

The public perception of firefighters has "a bit of glamorisation" to it, he says. But it's a regular job - it's just a standard day, he says although "it's a very enjoyable job.

"We are all from different walks of life. We all have a lot of time for the job. It's a job that we care about it."

As for the human tragedies, generally, he says "you don't dwell on it. You just have to put it aside and get on with the next case. There's a good camaraderie. The job itself is very secure. It's not so much a job - you value it a bit more than a job."