Thank God for the men and women of our community’s first responders.

That single thought kept recurring last week as news unfolded in our community.

On Tuesday a truly horrific scene unfolded on Gaylor Road. A house fire was raging and a life was on the line.

As thick, black smoke billowed into the sky, the fire engulfing the house created an eerie and frightening glow beneath the smoke.

It’s the kind of scene that makes normal people back away and keep a safe distance.

Thankfully, we are blessed with a select number of superheroes who don a uniform each day, putting aside their own safety and families to help others.

On Tuesday, the community saw great evidence of this work as members of the Natchez Fire Department and Adams County Sheriff’s Office worked together to save the life of Artiemese Harris Frye, the 68-year-old woman trapped inside the burning structure.

Witnesses said Frye’s brother knocked a wall down on the burning structure with a tractor in an attempt to allow rescuers to get access to her.

With black smoke billowing out, four rescuers ran in to rescue her.

They pulled her out of the burning house and emergency medical personnel worked hard to resuscitate her before she was ultimately taken to the hospital. Unfortunately, she died later at the hospital.

Of the four men, the two deputies, who did not have protective gear that firefighters wear, were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation.

Both have now been released.

The four men who ran into a burning building to save someone they likely had never met deserve deep gratitude and great respect.

Natchez Fire Capt. David Freeman, firefighter Aronte Patten and Adams County Sheriff’s Office deputies Stephen Karabelen and Kelvin Bailey are indeed community heroes who have hearts to serve and help those in need.

Of the four, the only one I have met personally is Freeman. He’s a longtime firefighter and absolutely the guy you want on duty if you ever find yourself needing help.

I’ve seen him use the Jaws of Life to free people trapped inside wrecked cars. I’ve watched him work in the rain to remove someone from a truck that collided with a fallen tree and I’ve seen him working to battle fires with a determination that is unmatched in my experience.

He’s one of many, many people who work in the law enforcement, fire protection and emergency medical response fields for little pay and often little respect or recognition until it’s your house, your life or your property they fearlessly work to save.

In the fire last week, their efforts were not fast enough to save Frye, but make no mistake, the kinds of people who do this kind of work will train harder and rethink their steps to learn if they could have shaved a second or two off their response times.

They will relive the horrors of what they have seen through the years again and again.

And inner drive will cause them to wake up tomorrow, put the uniform on again and head back into the fray.

And each day, the rest of us should thank God for what they do and work hard to give them better pay, better equipment and more respect.

Kevin Cooper is publisher of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3539 or kevin.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com.