First responders were on the clock during Thanksgiving, but they still made room for a little holiday tradition.

On Thanksgiving, Brownsville firefighters spent the holiday on duty, ready for any emergency.

"It's still business as usual, going to our calls and everything," Acting Assistant Fire Chief Marco Paniagua said.

Paniagua began his shift at 8 a.m. on Thursday.

"It's what we signed up for, and we're all here to serve our community," Paniagua said.

He, along with eight other firefighters, worked through the holiday, making the most of their time together.

"Just last shift, we all gathered up together, and we're like alright who's bringing what, so we all try to bring that homey feeling to the station while still being ready to go at a moment's notice to any call," Paniagua said.

Most of the calls the crew got during Thanksgiving were medical.

"We had a fire break out on 7th Street...we'll be cooking, we'll be trying to plan some stuff, but once those tones drop we kind of have to like stop and see and make sure if we need to respond to something," Lieutenant Bryan Gomez said.

Gomez had been in uniform for more than 24 hours. On Thursday, he followed up on a house fire he worked last night, checking for any remaining hot spots.

"They don't stop, right? The emergencies don't take a holiday, they don't take a break or anything, so someone has to be here, whether it's PD, us, any other first responders," Gomez said.

The crew also spent Thursday morning in the kitchen, preparing turkey, ham, and sides.

Even though they're away from their families at home, the firefighters say they're thankful to spend the day with their second family.

"I don't get home until Saturday and that's when we plan to do our Thanksgiving stuff," firefighter Jesus Salazar Jr. said.

While the day was mostly quiet with no fire calls, the firefighters were still busy with medical calls.

Watch the video above for the full story.