It could have been any family home on Christmas Day - there was the smell of lunch cooking, the excited hubbub of familiar conversation and a ping-pong table set up.
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Except in the garage there were fire engines instead of cars, and if the alarms went off a handful of the party would have had to dutifully excuse themselves, don their fire gear and head off to whatever emergency might have awaited.
About six on-duty firefighters invited their families along to Ainslie Fire Station on Christmas Day to share a huge lunch in between emergency calls.
Station officer Bernie Evans said it was a great way to keep Christmas special for the firefighters who had to be at work.
"We'd all like to be at home having the odd beer or two, but here obviously it's a massive no-no. But that's only a real minor issue. The best thing is just having the families here," he said.
But Christmas lunch at a fire station does come with its hazards, including the possibility of a call-out (there had been four before lunch began) and the threat of over-indulgence.
"If there's good food blokes, like any male, will hook in and go berserk," he said. "If you go to a working job, absolutely it can hurt you."
It was Alisha Anderson's first Christmas at the fire station with partner and senior firefighter Rohan Coleman, and she said for the firefighters it felt like they were sharing the day with extended family.
"I think [the firefighters are] pretty excited about it because they see the firies as part of their family and they get to actually spend Christmas Day with their [firefighter] family and their family. So I think they enjoy it. It's nice," she said.
"That's their job, so I think it's a part of life. It's something different."
Rohan's mother Lyn Coleman said her extended family had reorganised their Christmas so Rohan could have some of his family with him on Christmas Day, but said it was great to see how close the firefighters were.
"You can tell, you know anyway from talking to them just how deep the connections are. We've been invited in here to that extended family today," she said.
"It's wonderful, but also to be able to share it with the other guys because you can just see how connected they are and how important it is to them all."
Mr Evans said each family had been asked to bring a plate or two, and the Ainslie Football Club donated about six trays of food to the station for Christmas, which amounted to a sizeable spread.
