If you have a loved one in dangerous profession, you expect that their employer will do their best to ensure the employees’ safety — be it military personnel, police officers, firefighters, or miners.

In light of the August 6 mining tragedy, where six miners were trapped after a collapse in central Utah's Crandall Canyon Mine, questions surrounded the cave in, as well as proper safety measures for rescue operations.

The Salt Lake City Tribune explained that a “bump,” or layers of earth pressing down on the mine walls, caused the collapse. Another bump seems to have affected a subsequent August 16 incident, killing three rescue workers and injuring six others.

I have read several articles outlining the problems with the mine, as well as the difficulty of the rescue efforts, and I listened to politicians and journalists debate mining safety and changes to existing laws.

Robert Murray, the mine co-owner, has been scrutinized for how he handled the situation, and his decision making ability. And t he mine’s safety record has come into question.

Among the conflicting reports and explanations, the one thing that stood out for me was the families’ visible grief and anguish. They have a lot of questions but very few answers. The suggestion that mining shouldn’t have been conducted at all at Crandall Canyon because of safety issues must be unbearable for them.

Did those in charge fail the families and are they somehow responsible for the tragedy?

Like miners’ families, military families rely on those in charge to do the right thing and ensure the safety of our loved ones. A police officers’ wife, a firefighter’s mother, and a deployed soldier’s son, want the guarantee that those in charge of their loved ones’ lives will not put personal and political gain or financial success ahead of employee safety.

Additionally, politicians and community leaders have a responsibility to ensure that they have done their best to protect the lives of those who risk it all for others. 

But, it’s true that regardless of our best efforts tragedies strike. After all, we live in an imperfect world. But at the same time, there is a lot we can do to help to prevent incidents and to support the families if disasters strike.

Perhaps, the hope is that though mistakes are made, we are less tolerant of injustice of any kind, and that in the future we will live up to our potential so that victims may find comfort rather than anger and unanswered questions when they confront those in charge.