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MELBOURNE, Fla. -- It was a busy day for Melbourne firefighters. After responding to several emergency calls, they returned home to find their own station on fire.

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Station 72 is located on Sarno and Wickham Road and a smoke detector there wouldn't have changed the outcome one bit. The firefighters who call it home were all out responding to other emergencies.

Battalion Chief Robert Apel makes a quick stop at Melbourne Fire Station 72 everyday to check things out. But Thursday he got an unexpected surprise.

Firefighters there work 24-hour shifts and cook their own meals. Thursday, they say, they left the station to respond to an emergency call and, in a rush, left grease burning on the stove.

"We're used to telling people, 'Hey this is what you need to do,' and comforting them. It turned out we had to comfort ourselves," says Apel.

The station got a call about smoke and flames coming from their own home and the firefighters who actually live there "were the first on scene and fought the fire," explains Apel.

"[It's] kind of devastating. Damage wise, the kitchen the day room, smoke damage throughout the whole living quarters," says Apel.

Despite having the station gutted by fire, Apel says this won't hurt fire service for long. Crew from Station 71 will cover Thursday night and then a portable will be set up and the crew will operate from the station grounds.

"We're human and this kind of relays that to the public, that we're just as human as them and we make our own mistakes," Apel comments.

He expects the kitchen and living quarters to be fully repaired in about month.

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