Neosho fire Chief Greg Hickman just happened “to be in the right place at the right time” to save the life of a 10-year-old boy trapped in a car that had landed upside down in four feet of water.

With assistance from Sgt. Stephen Douglas of the Neosho Police Department, Hickman managed to cut the youngster out of his seat belt and get him to shore. The boy wasn’t breathing and Hickman administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. An ambulance arrived. The boy was flown to Freeman Hospital, where he was treated and released.

That Hickman heard the police radio report, that he was close enough to quickly respond, that he had a knife in his possession when only that particular instrument might extricate the lad from his perilous situation ... all of that provides a sense of more than just being “in the right place at the right time.” Providential would seem a good fit.

We salute Chief Hickman and Sgt. Douglas. Their quick work saved a life. That Hickman did what he was trained as a fireman to do in dealing with a life-threatening situation doesn’t diminish the fact that a 10-year-old is alive today.

But beyond that Monday night crisis, shouldn’t we consider all the other times that firemen, police officers and paramedics cheat the touch of death with their quick-thinking, alertness, knowledge and experience. Although their efforts often go unreported and thus unnoticed, they, too, merit a “thank you” and salute from those they serve.

Our definition of heroism is someone who goes beyond what is expected of them. Might not being “in the right place at the right time” make an appropriate appurtenance?