In the past month, significant attention has been focused on the decision to switch Austin Fire Department staffing from 24 hours a day, seven days a week to between the hours of 7 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., with the rest of the time using an on-call system.

On Jan. 5, the city council approved reverting back to staffing the fire department 24 hours a day.

Regardless of which side of this issue you’re on, it was clear during Thursday’s fire that ravaged portions of downtown Austin that our firefighters are needed as much as we can get them.

The effort not only utilized Austin’s fire personnel, but firefighters from outlying areas as well.

These included Albert Lea, Blooming Prairie, Brownsdale and Rose Creek.

All of these firefighters and law enforcement deserve accolades for braving subzero weather and doing what they could to help stop the blaze as quickly as possible.

It could have been worse, and because of our hometown heroes, it wasn’t.