A text message came across my phone around 6:42 p.m. last Tuesday. I was in the middle of editing a story and rearranging our story budget for the next day’s newspaper, and I didn’t even think twice about reading the message. I was in the thick of it.

About 20 to 30 minutes later, after that story was sent off and the budget was finalized, I circled back around to see who had reached out. It was my mom checking in on my wife Lauren and I to make sure we were all right.

I questioned why she was asking. I soon realized that she, and several other family members, had seen the Realty Tower explosion from downtown Youngstown on NBC News. Lester Holt delivered a quick hit on the Tuesday night news explaining the situation and my mom was worried, just like all mothers normally are.

That, however, was the first of many national news outlets to pick up the news of the explosion that killed 27-year-old Akil Drake and sent other victims to nearby hospitals after a pressurized gas line was cut.

Youngstown, Ohio, was all of a sudden all over the national news. The story was picked up by outlets such as The Washington Post, the New York Times, MSN, NBC News, Fox News, BBC, the New York Post, news stations in both Cleveland and Pittsburgh and several others. A few days after the original blast, I was even sent a link from an article in the China Times.

Since the explosion, I’ve received a flurry of messages and questions, and we at the newspaper have also tirelessly continued coverage of the tragic event.

We’ve been attempting to cover the explosion from every angle we can think of. We’ve told the stories of civilians who were around the scene, dove deep into how the explosion took place and also touched on several other topics.

The story of the mutual aid response to such a tragic event, though, was quite phenomenal.

As we highlighted in our Weekend Edition on June 1, organizations, including the Youngstown Fire Department, the Boardman Fire Department, the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office and the Youngstown Police Department, along with others, all responded in some way, shape or form. Other organizations also offered resources in any way that they could.

The highlight of it all was the body camera footage of sheriff’s deputy Joe Hamilton. The video was shared by the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office a few days after the blast, and it perfectly showcased how coordinated the effort was.

While working security at the Mahoning County Courthouse, Hamilton witnessed the front doors of the building open and then suddenly close. Shortly after, he was clearing civilians from the scene, helping firefighters unload a ladder from a nearby truck and then helping them descend into the basement to find victims of the explosion.

The video also shows Youngstown fire Capt. Tommy Gibbs climbing the ladder with Caroline Pizarro, a Chase Bank employee, over his shoulder. Hamilton and another firefighter then carried Pizarro to safety.

Along with that display of heroics, Youngstown fire Battalion Chief Tim Frease and Boardman fire Chief Mark Pitzer were able to coordinate a plan to quickly, and efficiently, rescue any tenants or victims still in the building.

The sheriff’s office also provided its drone unit, which was able to fly its small drone through the building to find civilians still inside. That allowed the first responders to efficiently work through the building.

Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene said, “A lot of times, you don’t know how you’re gonna act or react, and when you see a situation like that happen, you’re just really proud of everyone’s response.”

That should be the exact response in this situation. Amid a tragic situation, one that was described by Youngstown fire Chief Barry Finley as one of the worst of his career, first responders in the Valley showed up and performed exceptionally to make sure community members were safe, and that’s simply all you can ask for.

Bravo to the first responders who kept our community safe even in the most tragic of moments.

Have an interesting story? Email Greg Macafee at gmacafee@tribtoday.com or follow him on X, formerly Twitter at @greg_macafee.