Small town heroes

When I lived in the town of Conway, Washington, population 424, I was witness to a horrific traffic accident. There were 3 people in one vehicle which lost control and crashed, promptly bursting into flames. The Mount Vernon Fire Department was on scene in no time and the first fire fighter to the car was the father of 2 of the victims, teenaged sisters. I watched in shock and shame as the man yelled, cried, screamed and sobbed at the sight of his beautiful children, beyond any help he could offer, in a situation out of his control.
That was in 1997 and has never left my mind.
There are heroes everywhere I turn: teachers, parents, doctors, emergency responders/fire fighters/policemen. Look at the FDNY, for instance, and the immense outpouring of admiration after 9/11. Heroes.
However, I find the greatest heroes of all to be those in a small town. Please do not mis-understand - rescue workers and emergency workers in cities are unbelievable. But when I look around and see the handyman, the cemetery caretaker, the nurse, mason, teacher, mom, dad, boat rigger, truck driver, security guard and all of the other everyday people who make up out local volunteer fire departments, I see heroes. Every single one.
Whether it is responding to a false alarm at a fancy house whose alarm system has been triggered by a power surge, a chimney fire in a condo, a barn on fire, a dump pit burning on a dry, windy day or the nightmare call of a fatal car accident, these people drop everything they are doing and respond. They answer calls for help from neighboring departments for stores on fire, big homes, jaws of life and any other thing. They leave their families and work at all hours of the day and night to risk their lives to save those of others, often times others whom they know.
That is a small town, and that is a small town hero. The man or woman who leaps out of bed at 5 am to respond to a car accident, to find it is a woman known to all and pray she went quickly. The man or woman who drops everything to help put out a raging fire on a windy day so it cannot spread to the houses next door, only to find the business owner is a cousin. The man or woman who gives everything he or she has to preserve whatever can be preserved in the face of destruction and danger. The man or woman who responds to the call of a body. And it is a friend, a partner, a loved one.
These are my heroes. I cannot be one of you - it takes a special kind. We are so lucky to have you.
Thank you.