It has meant being awakened a few times — but it also means our street gets special attention from the snow plows (remember those?) so it has evened out.

I can’t count how many times I’ve seen or heard those vehicles going by and hoped that wherever they were going, things were OK. I hoped that it would be a false alarm or just a precautionary measure where nothing serious happened.

Sure, those happen — but many of those times are critical emergencies where lives are either lost or impacted in severe and tragic ways.

Like just about everyone else, I’ve also had a few encounters with our local police officers.

The majority of those have taken place when I have been in the wrong and not paying enough attention to the traffic regulations. I can’t say I’ve ever been happy to be pulled over for a violation, but most of the time — if I’m honest — I did something to deserve it.

Most of my experiences with officers have been very positive and instructive, but I know that isn’t always the case. I’ve had family and friends who haven’t been treated as fairly as they should’ve been and that’s been frustrating.

There is, however, something that should be remembered by all of us regarding our first responders:

They never know what is going to happen.

I had the chance to sit and talk with Ogden City fire chief Mike Slater recently and he described how his firefighters can go from a fatal medical emergency to not knowing if someone is in a burning structure to transporting someone in critical condition to a hospital.

And I sat there thinking, “wow, what would that be like?”

These women and men go to work knowing they may see terrible things and deal with death and find themselves in very dangerous situations. And they have to be as prepared as possible while dealing with the stress of facing the unknown on a daily basis.

That would take a toll on anyone.

I was glad to hear that many organizations provide mental health resources for the first responders to help them through the emotional challenges that come with the job.

Even more, though, I’m extremely grateful that we have women and men who are willing to step up and take care of the emergencies in our communities.

Where would we be without them?

I don’t even want to try and imagine that.

Thankfully, we don’t have to. When we go throughout our daily activities and settle into our beds at night, we can have the assurance that their are officers and paramedics and firefighters out there ready in case we need them.

Many in our communities thank these women and men in their own ways, whether picking up the tab at a restaurant or participating in a volunteer event or even just waving in greeting as they go by.

I think every expression of gratitude is well deserved. These individuals earn it through their work and preparation every day.

The Standard-Examiner is working on doing more to show our gratitude by highlighting the efforts of these people by sharing spotlights to get to know them better.

I also invite everyone to do one more thing to show your appreciation:

If you have a negative encounter with an officer or a firefighter, remember that they are just human beings like you and me doing the best they can in a very difficult, stressful job.

They still need to be held accountable if they go too far, but when applicable give them the benefit of the doubt.

We can help them face their challenges by not being too critical.

To our first responders, I want to say I sure hope I never need your help — but thank you so much for being there.

Jared Lloyd is the managing editor of the Standard-Examiner and can be reached at jlloyd@standard.net.