Denis Leary: To the firefighters and rescuers who face whatever comes

Working alongside fearless paramedics and ambulance crews, firefighters show their courage — every incredible day.

A Boston EMS ambulance crew wheels a patient into Massachusetts General Hospital.John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

Denis Leary grew up in Worcester.Handout

Whenever trouble arrives, so do firefighters. They supply lightning resolve, no matter the size or scope of a crisis: 9/11. The Boston Marathon bombings. And now, a global pandemic.

Such traumatic events put firefighters on the public stage, where their courage and caring become heroic traits. But they do this every day, working alongside fearless paramedics and ambulance crews. They did it before 9/11 and after 9/11. They did it on the dark day of the Marathon bombings and the many demanding ones that followed. They’re doing it right now, on the front lines in this battle against COVID-19, and they will keep on doing it after a cure has been developed.

When things go wrong, these brave men and women show up. As others run out of a burning building, they run in. As most of us stayed indoors avoiding a killer disease, their sirens howled in a rush to confront it face to face, over and over again.

We are fortunate to have such heroes. From Boston to Worcester to New York City to Los Angeles. Across America and around the world. They all share the same calling: whenever you need to be saved, they come to the rescue.

So please remember these dedicated people and the difficult things they love to do — every incredible day.

Boston firefighters responded to a seven-alarm fire in a three-decker earlier this month. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

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Denis Leary, creator of the Leary Firefighters Foundation, is an actor, comedian, and producer who grew up in Worcester.