Join us as we salute our Everyday Heroes – Seminole County’s First Responders

When they teach you how to call 911 when you are in grade school they tell you everything you need to do, state your name, address, the whole nine yards. You don’t really think anything of it. It’s just something you learn and stick it in the back of your head until you need it.

Until that one fateful day where your life changes forever and you need help.

Your first call to a first responder. Dispatchers, firefighters, Sheriff and Police officers, paramedics and EMTs are our superheroes. When we call, they are there and their jobs are far from easy. They work long crazy hours around the clock and rush to scenes helping complete strangers without thinking twice.

In situations where first responders are called we forget that they are taking time away from their families to help ours. When they go out on a call they witness crazed situations and are just expected to go home at the end of the day and be okay. We want them to know that without them, the world we live in would not be the same.

It takes a special kind of person to care for others when they don’t have to. These people rise to the call of duty every time they walk through the doors at work. I can’t even imagine what goes through someone’s mind when they are headed to a call, but what I do know is they don’t get enough credit. It seems credit is only given when they make the save, but that’s not how it should be.

Seminole County’s First Responders are indeed our community’s everyday heroes; brave men and women who live in our communities, risking their lives to keep us safe each and every day, all while telling you it’s all part of the job.

Honoring these public servants, whose everyday acts of bravery, caring and selflessness, uplifts and strengthens our community, and praising them is always an act this newspaper is so very proud to do.

They are everyday citizens and ordinary people who do extraordinary things under the most difficult of circumstances – and whenever we see them we need to shake their hand and say two words – thank you.

Those two words seem far too few to express the gratitude we, and all Seminole County residents, owe local First Responders who ensure our health and safety every day. They are, though, heartfelt, and if we and others have been remiss in saying them, then three additional words – “please forgive us” – should quickly follow.

Sadly, it often takes tragic events such as those that have unfolded recently in our community,  to make each of us fully aware of the daily sacrifice from each of our First Responders. It is somewhat of an irony that it takes their presence at a tragic or stressful event to knock us out of our daily routine of being oblivious to their around-the-clock vigilance.

Our First Responders, though, put their lives on the line each time they pin their badges to their chests. There is nothing routine about their days when each seemingly innocuous call could turn lethal on a moment’s notice. Moreover, dealing with that reality provides its own brand of risk.

Similarly, firefighters responding to a blaze face the risks of injury or death each time they pit themselves against devastating flames and collapsing structures.

So, knowing what type of person and personality it takes to be a First Responder, what do you think these everyday heroes do in their spare time? Quite frequently, they can be found in our schools or at community events, reaching out to us and our children to foster better understanding.

So when you see your local first responders give them a wave or thank them for their service because without them the world would be a much different, and much scarier place. 

To this community’s firefighters, police officers, Sheriff’s officers, EMTs and State Patrol officers, we say thank you for all you do, and to show you, in this week’s edition you will find the Donalsonville News’ Salute to Seminole County  First Responders. Featuring more than 120 photos and names of each Seminole County everyday hero, complemented by advertising messages from local businesses,
the annual special edition is a salute to their service and a thank you from the ones they serve.

Comments and Impressions are welcomed 

and requested at david@donalsonvillenews.com