A lot of the time, we know firefighters, police officers and paramedics only as the people whose vehicles occasionally rush past us with lights flashing and sirens blaring.

But where are they in such a hurry to get to, what will they do once they get there, and what do they do when they're not dealing with an emergency?

CTV's Marc Venema spent time with local firefighters, police officers and paramedics, finding out the answers to all of these questions.

He saw emergency responders deal with call after call, and unexpected developments at many of the scenes.

Use the video player above to watch the series.