By Brian Brown, Telecommunicator, & Liz Hodgis, Communications Supervisor, Currituck County (N.C.) Communications

Newtown Police Officer Maryhelen McCarthy places flowers at a makeshift memorial outside St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church, Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. On Friday, a gunman allegedly killed his mother at their home and then opened fire inside the Sandy Hook Elementary School, killing 26 people. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

In the wake of last week’s deadly shootings at Sandy Hill Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., the nation is mourning the victims: six teachers, 20 children and the mother of the shooter.

Recently, I [Liz Hodgis] attended a Center Manager Certification Program in Cary, N.C. In addition to the educational value of this training, it was also a great opportunity to develop new networking relationships. During the course of the week, I met many people from all over the U.S. and Canada. Several of us were partnered together to work on projects. One of the ladies in my working group was Maureen Will, from Connecticut. The day following the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary, it hit me. That’s where Maureen was from. No matter how much preplanning and preparing we do for worst case scenarios, you never really expect it to happen to you.

As the nation struggles to cope with the senseless act of violence that occurred in Newtown, everyone’s thoughts are first and foremost appropriately with the families of the children and school staff members who are no longer with us. However, it is important that we remember in times like these that the victims and their families are not the only ones affected by these tragedies. In our society, there is a special group of people often overlooked, a group of people called “first responders” who devote their lives to helping others in times of need.

This group runs the entire spectrum of the public safety field. It starts with the 9-1-1 dispatcher, the voice on the phone who answers the frantic calls for help about shots fired at the school. The dispatcher doesn’t have time to be horrified and sad, for they must immediately kick off a whirlwind of controlled chaos, dispatching law enforcement and emergency medical responders, activating necessary response protocols, handling calls from terrified people at the scene, and settling in for what will be a long shift of tension, terror and sadness.

Then, of course, there are the law enforcement officers who immediately answer the radio broadcast of “shots fired, active shooter.” They race toward a scene most would flee from, with no regard for personal safety—save maybe a few quick thoughts of their family, which they must push away to focus on the mission at hand. A flurry of thoughts and questions come to their mind, some answered by their dispatcher, some not because the information simply isn’t available. How many shooters? What type of weapons? Where is the shooter? How close by are backup units? Am I going to make it home to my family today? Will I have to take a life to make sure that happens? All these thoughts and more are present as they race toward the unknown, a sensory overload of dangerous circumstances against a backdrop of lights, sirens and the cries of the victims. They arrive on scene to take care of business, wanting to stop and render aid to the injured but knowing they cannot until the shooter is down. Some must push away the sadness as they work their way past broken and bloodied bodies, searching for a subject who may or may not want to engage them in a hail of bullets, while others focus on getting those who are fleeing the scene to safety.

Finally, we have the firefighters, EMTs and paramedics who respond to treat the wounded. They set up triage areas and command posts, providing medical assistance to those in need and comforting those who are physically uninjured but mentally will never be the same. They too must deal with the sight of the bodies and mourn the loss of those who could not be saved, all the while not letting the horror affect their ability to help those who are still in need. There is also the task of assisting those who will undoubtedly arrive at the command posts to frantically search for loved ones.

It is this emotional trauma which should cause us to remember not only the victims, but also the responders. True, those who answer the calls and respond to the scene may not have lost a friend or family member, but they are damaged just the same. The cries of terror and the images of the dead are forever burned into their minds, along with the vicious revelation that tomorrow is uncertain for us all. Following a critical incident of this nature, all those involved—dispatchers, law enforcement, fire and EMS personnel—most certainly need debriefing and may need counseling to cope with the pain and sadness, not to mention the sounds and sights that haunt them.

It is with this in mind that the responders need your support as as well. Yes, those of us in public safety willingly enter this field knowing that the things we face are not things the general public has to hear and see. However, this acknowledgement does not diminish the emotional effects of these tragedies.

It is a difficult thing to deal with the very worst aspects of society and the senseless death of the innocent and still go home with a smile for your family after what felt like a day in hell. During these incidents responders are forced to suppress all normal human emotion, not to shield themselves, but simply to maintain their composure and do the job at hand. Afterward, the compartmentalization of feelings is no longer a vital function and the mind is free to address all the emotions there simply wasn’t time for during the tragedy itself.

For this reason, I ask that everyone who takes the time to send a word of comfort to the victims, please do the same for the dispatchers, officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel who are also struggling to cope with this senseless tragedy.