A salute to our first responders

“Words cannot express how grateful I am.”

That is most of what Alvin Velazquez said as he stood before the three men credited with saving not only his life but the life of his four legged friend, Zeus.

The very short version of this story is that the three officers were among five people credited with saving the lives of Velazquez and Zeus when the a medical emergency caused Velasquez’s occupied car to veer into the lake at the Enterprise Recreational Complex one evening this summer.

The three Enterprise Police Officers Velasquez was talking to—Mark Anderson, Michael Darbro and Ken Shiver—looked like there was no other place they would rather not be than standing at parade rest in front of a standing ovation at the Enterprise City Council meeting.

But the point that Enterprise Police Chief T.D. Jones was making by publicly commending them was clear. “Everyday police are responding to calls, rushing into danger and they don’t even think twice about going in and helping people they don’t even know,” is what Jones told those attending the council meeting. “This is what police officers and first responders do every day in this country.”

Jones’ message was one worth repeating: This is what first responders do every day.

How do we thank people whose every day routine involves putting on bulletproof vests and gun belts? Think about that as you decide what outfit you decide to wear to work.

When catastrophe hits—such as the recent threat of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, the California firestorm or the mass shooting in Las Vegas—first responders don’t get to run away from the danger, they end up running right toward it to protect others. And their work shift doesn’t end until the crisis does.

And while first response to catastrophes brings public attention to their efforts there are hundreds of dispatch calls of domestic disputes, fires, trespassing, unauthorized entries and medical emergencies that are responded to 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Dedication to serve their communities regardless of the cost is one of the most admirable attributes a person can have.

That is the point that Jones was driving home. While getting Velazquez and Zeus out of a vehicle quickly submerging in water cannot go down in history as an everyday event, it is duly noted that first responders continually place the needs of others above themselves.

In this day of digital communications, first responders do their jobs with the knowledge that cell-phone videographers could be recording any action they take.

It’s easy to take for granted all the sacrifices first responders make for their communities on a daily basis—until we need their help.

How do we adequately thank those who selflessly respond to every call for help that comes into the dispatch center? And, indeed, how do we thank the families that wait for their first responder to return home?

Michelle Mann is a staff writer for The Southeast Sun and Daleville Sun-Courier. The opinions of this writer are her own and not the opinion of the paper. She can be reached at (334) 393-2969 or by email at [email protected].