When people think of fire departments, they generally think of flames, smoke, fire trucks and water.

But the Saxonburg Volunteer Fire Company, in cooperation with volunteer fire companies in Middlesex and Penn townships, merits praise for offering a course in trench rescue to firefighters, as well as rescue, emergency medical services and municipal personnel. The course will be held from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Saxonburg firehall.

As all firefighters know, smoke and flames don't have to be present for them to be called into action. And, in the southern part of the county, which is facing considerable trench work due to the Saxonburg Area Authority's sewer-system expansion, the knowledge that such a course will provide could be especially important at this time.

Meanwhile, the course in question is a prerequisite to a 16-hour trench rescue operations course that provides additional training and practice in actual trench-rescue scenarios. That course is planned for this summer.

Most volunteer fire departments dedicate themselves to ongoing training, to keep their skills fine-tuned and to expand their knowledge.

In this case, it is the Saxonburg, Middlesex and Penn Township departments that are commendably leading the way.