THEIR families and their colleagues will never forget them, and it is also right that the rest of the country should remember them, too.

The men and women who die while working in our emergency services put themselves at risk each day often without thinking about it.

The Clutha disaster should have been a routine helicopter trip, but every flight carries with it risks and the police officers who died that night wouldn't have thought of it as dangerous.

There are memorials around Glasgow to firefighters who have lost their lives trying to save others in some cases from buildings and factories that were in themselves a danger.

Each time our emergency crews attend an incident they are unsure what they are going to be faced with and must be prepared for every eventuality.

But nothing can prepare them for the loss of a colleague who works by their side to protect and save others.

While lessons must always be learned from these tragedies, where police officers or firefighters lose their lives, and efforts must be made to minimise the risks, we should always remember those who died in service.

Their duty was to protect our lives and it cost them theirs.