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The pay of local law enforcement officers has been a hot topic over the last month, as both the county and city of LaGrange have implemented substantial pay raises.

It’s fitting that those raises came in the same month as the life-saving actions of Carrla Querry, who pulled two people from a vehicle engulfed in flames following in a bad car crash at Highway 54 and Hammett Road on June 30.

“When I heard there were people still in the car, I knew we needed to get them out because the flames hadn’t been put out by the fire extinguishers,” Querry said.

For most, getting near a truck engulfed in flames would be very frightening. It would take a lot of resolve. We all think that we’d run into that situation and do what needed to be done.

Querry didn’t even have time to think about it. She knew what had to happen.

“I didn’t have time to be scared,” Querry said. “You know when you need to act and the danger was there, and we needed to get them out of the car.”

With the help of several people on scene, Querry was able to get the occupants out of the car, just seconds before the flames engulfed the vehicle completely.

On Tuesday, she was recognized by the Troup County Commission for her brave actions. A proclamation was named making it Carrla Querry Day in Troup County.

“I don’t feel like a hero, but I know that I’ll feel better when I actually get to see Mr. Davis or Miss Linda — that’d be a real delight for me,” Querry said when we interviewed her on July 5.

Thank you Carrla for your quick actions. We also thank the other citizens who were on the scene who assisted.

The outcome would’ve been much different if not for these brave folks, who jumped in to help citizens in need.

Hopefully, no one actually needing reminding, but Querry’s response to this emergency showed why high-quality first responders are worth every penny we can afford to pay them. Fittingly, a few weeks after this incident, the sheriff’s office received a raise.