First responders — those who are trained and designated to respond during emergencies — are our modern day heroes.

We often don’t realize all the ways our police officers, sheriff’s deputies, fire fighters and emergency medical services personnel impact our lives.

Many times, while we are comfortable in our homes, sitting down to dinner with our families, or enjoying a night’s sleep, first responders are out risking life and limb to help others in our community.

Within the last week, first responders had the unpleasant task of informing family members of the death of Eddie Brent, 72, who was reported missing on Saturday. His body was found on Sunday near his vehicle, which had wrecked well off the road of the Yazoo Backwater Levee between Steele Bayou and U.S. 61.

On Tuesday, after a 20-hour search in the woods, first responders had a happier ending when they located James Wesley Jenkins, 76, who walked away from a Vicksburg nursing home.

First responders left their homes and families and Monday, gathered together and trudged through mud and muck during the pouring rain to search for Jenkins. They were back before dawn to continue the search on Tuesday morning. He was located at about 10 a.m. on Tuesday.

Whether it’s running up a towering inferno while everyone else runs out, or walking through raging floodwaters, our first responders put their lives on the line on a daily basis in our country and in our community.

Fred Rogers, the beloved personality behind the children’s show Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, said when he was a young boy, after hearing scary news, asked him mother what should he do. He said she told him, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

We are thankful for our first responders, our helpers during all kinds of difficult and scary times.