When we hear of tragedies such as Wednesday’s traffic accident that claimed the lives of two women and an 11-year-old boy, our thoughts and prayers are with their families.

Because of our familiarity with these events, and our friendships with those who must deal with them, we in the news profession also remember the first responders: the police officers, firefighters, paramedics and others, both professionals and volunteers, whose lives they also impact.

One of our friends is a retired Cumberland firefighter who carried an infant from a burning building. It did not survive.

We also have been told by police officers that their most difficult duty is the one that requires them to go to people’s homes and inform them that a loved one has been killed in an accident.

Often, the first to arrive at the scene are those who, even though they are off duty, know only that there are lives to be saved, and it is to such a purpose that they have devoted their own lives.

Our coverage in today’s edition describes the heroic measures a state trooper and a county Bureau of Police officer took in a vain effort to save the life of the boy who later died of his injuries. They did this in traffic, with no regard for their own safety.

A letter to the editor in Thursday’s edition came from a witness to last Friday’s fire on Carroll Street. She described how a Cumberland firefighter carried one of the victims from her burning home, then knelt in the middle of the street, overtaken by an emotion no one can understand unless he has felt it himself.

“I will pray for the fireman because the pain I saw on his face was enough to make me not sleep at night,” she wrote.

When we see those whose life’s chosen work is to keep us safe, we should thank them. It’s not nearly enough, but they still need to know how much we do appreciate them.