The death of Brad Holmes, 21, a volunteer firefighter with the Pine Township Engine Company in Mercer County, should cause people throughout the area to pause and reflect on the role and sacrifices of those people who freely give of their time and talents to work — oftentimes in hazardous circumstances — on behalf of their communities' safety and general well-being and pride.

Holmes didn't have to be a firefighter. He didn't have to sacrifice the many hours he devoted to learn the skills necessary for his important role. He didn't have to risk his life on behalf of someone he might not have known.

He chose to do all of those things, and he paid the ultimate price — giving his life for a cause to which he firmly was committed.

He will be remembered for his sacrifices and what he tried to accomplish on Friday.

Holmes was burned over 75 percent of his body when he entered the fire-engulfed residence of Patricia Andrews-Smith to try to rescue the 40-year-old woman.

Andrews-Smith, who initially had escaped the flames, apparently without injury, re-entered the home reportedly to try to rescue her dog.

Holmes and fellow Pine Township firefighter Scott King, 24, rushed into the blaze to try to save the woman but were unsuccessful.

Holmes was conscious when he was pulled from the fire, but, at the time of his death, at 5:15 a.m. Wednesday at the UPMC Mercy burn center in Pittsburgh, he was in a medically induced coma.

The Western Pennsylvania firefighting community is a tightly knit group of hundreds of dedicated individuals. Mark Lauer, chief of Butler County's Unionville Volunteer Fire Company, alluded to that in reporting that fire units from this county and Mercer County have stepped in to provide coverage of the Pine Township station in the wake of the Holmes tragedy.

Pine Township firefighters assisted at Unionville in 2001 after two Unionville firefighters drowned while trying to reach a kayaker in Slippery Rock Creek.

"Pine Township was here to support us, and we'll be there to support them," Lauer said.

Not only is this Grove City tragedy a reminder of the bravery of the individuals who opt to become involved in the fire service, both in a volunteer or paid capacity, it also is a reminder for people to take precautions against situations, conditions or decisions that might lead to serious or deadly consequences.

Andrews-Smith made the wrong choice by choosing to sleep with a hair dryer running, because of the comforting effect that she said it had on her. At least on this occasion she did not ensure that the dryer was safely positioned to avoid causing a fire. A state police fire marshal's investigation of the cause of the blaze identified the dryer as the flames' source.

But it was the woman's frantic decision to try to save her pet that cost her her life and also claimed the life of Holmes.

It can be expected that hundreds of firefighters will converge on Grove City to participate in Holmes' funeral service. They will mourn the loss of a comrade, but their presence also will celebrate the life of a true hero who was a member of their ranks.

That is as it should be.

At the same time, the Grove City community and people across Western Pennsylvania should reflect on the common tendency to take people like Holmes for granted. People here and elsewhere should reflect on where their communities would be — and how much less secure they themselves might feel — without people like Holmes and those with whom he served, ready to answer the call of an emergency in progress.