Bravery in action

This editorial appeared in the Hartford Courant.

For first responders, courage is a job requirement.

Nine police officers were injured when a North Haven building exploded late Wednesday. Their bravery, and that of all first responders, is recognized and deeply appreciated. The injured, members of a regional SWAT team, had gone to the property after a woman escaped earlier Wednesday. They tried to negotiate with a man who had barricaded himself inside a barn on the property.

The officers had no idea what was inside the barn. They had no hint of what was to come. They tried for hours to encourage the man to come out. But the building exploded without warning, rattling homes streets away. One neighbor said it was like a war zone. The nine officers were hospitalized, two with serious injuries, but, thankfully, all were in fair condition Thursday morning.

Newington police Officer Peter J. Lavery was shot and killed while responding to a domestic incident in late 2004. During a kidnapping and standoff in 2009, police shielded themselves from bullets as Richard Shenkman’s house went up in flames in South Windsor.

The police, firefighters and EMTs who rush to emergencies know these stories and other stories like them. Yet in they go, risking their lives to protect others.

It requires an amount of courage that most people, fortunately, will never have to summon and few could muster. Yet for first responders, that courage is a job requirement.

We are grateful for these nine brave souls, and their colleagues across Connecticut, who dedicate their lives to protecting us all.