Remembering the human cost of running towards danger

For most Australians, calling Triple Zero is one of the worst moments of their lives. A loved one has stopped breathing. A bushfire is encroaching on their home. Someone is trapped, injured or dying. For the people who answer those calls, however, those worst days are not isolated moments. They are repeated over and over again, shift after shift, year after year.

Remembering the human cost of running towards danger. For most Australians, calling Triple Zero is one of the worst moments of their lives. A loved one has stopped breathing. A bushfire is encroaching on their home. Someone is trapped, injured or dying. For the people who answer those calls, however, those worst days are not isolated moments. They are repeated over and over again, shift after shift, year after year. "Nobody calls an emergency service because they're having a great day," volunteer firefighter Elisabeth Goh says. "It's usually the worst day of their life or one of the worst." Elisabeth Goh's trauma was so gradual she didn't recognise it. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS) Across Australia, first responders step into those moments - walking towards car wrecks, fires, violence, medical emergencies and natural disasters as others des...