If You Didn’t Respect Firefighters Enough Already, Take Some Time With These Stunning Photos

Sometimes, maybe, we take them for granted, hoping that we’ll never need their services, but firefighters are probably the greatest everyday heroes in our society. The most recent, bitter reminder of what firefighters risk to protect the rest of us came in March, when a nine-alarm blaze in Boston claimed the lives of two firefighters there.

Last year, 101 firefighters died in the course of doing their jobs. In 2012 that number was 83, and the same number of firefighters, 83, died in the line of duty in 2011.

If you didn’t respect firefighters enough already, this set of photos — collected on the image archive site imgur.com — should help you realize, or remember, what these incredible individuals deal with on a regular basis to protect the life and property of the rest of us.

And firefighters don’t just protect you, your friends, and loved ones. They’ll protect your beloved companion animals as well, as a couple of these pictures show.

We’ll present these photos to you without comment. Because what firefighters put themselves through every day, well, we think that speaks for itself.

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