We think of them as the men and women who come to our aid in times of crisis. Car crashes. Fires. Falls. Even when our beloved pets are in distress.

But Sunday’s windstorms showed just one more way that countless volunteer firefighters and emergency crews step up to the aid of our communities.

Most of us battened down the hatches and hid behind thick brick walls and double-paned glass windows as high winds blasted Butler County throughout the day and well into the night Sunday.

But hundreds of emergency responders spent what should have been their day off scrambling from scenes of downed power lines to upended trees to roofs blowing off homes and onto parked cars. These often unsung heroes blocked traffic from heading into dangerous situations until utility crews arrived and damages cleared.

They braved brisk winds and dropping temperatures to direct traffic. They moved from one emergency call to the next all day long. We listened intently to the newsroom scanner as crews dispatched to every corner of the county — from major roads to downtown streets to country lanes,

All this while handling their regular roster of car accidents and medical emergencies.

These departments are manned by volunteers. Men and women, young and old, who feel an innate call of civic duty to protect and serve their small, often rural communities.

Some join as teens eager to learn the ladders and live for the late-night calls. Others come to the fold after tragedy strikes and they decide to pay it forward to help the next person.

Regardless of how they arrived at their volunteer fire department, they all came with one expectation — a willingness to answer when their community called.

Our county’s amazing force of volunteer emergency responders wouldn’t necessarily be the first thing to come to mind on days like Sunday when high winds ravaged roads, utility lines and vinyl siding.

Of course, we’d think of them in more severe weather systems requiring boat rescues from rapidly rising waters or snow storms leaving people without electricity for extended periods of time.

But here’s the thing to remember. They are out there for every storm. And they’re likely out there for long hours with little rest.

But they’re there.

And without this volunteer emergency force existing throughout Butler County, just imagine the mass chaos and havoc days like Sunday would wreak on the county.

Whether they’re willingly jumping out of bed in the middle of the night to save a burning home or giving up their Sunday afternoons to re-route traffic around downed power lines, the men and women of volunteer fire departments should definitely be commended for their efforts.

— ALH