But we're guessing there's no amount of experience that would help them prepare for the scene that greeted them last night.
According to the Aurora Police Department, a local man suffering from what a spokesperson describes as a "psychological episode" cut off his own hand.
Here's what we know about the incident.
Yesterday, emergency responders were called to the 2700 block of South Mobile Street in Aurora, an absolutely typical-looking area seen in the interactive graphic below. If you have problems seeing the image, click "View Larger Map."
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What greeted them? An Aurora Police Department tweet describes it in the simplest possible terms.
APD assisted AFD on medical call where man severed his own hand. This was a non criminal incident and party was treated/transported by AFD.
— Aurora Police Dept (@AuroraPD) October 21, 2013
Afterward, the Denver Post chatted with an Aurora Fire Department spokeswoman, who says a neighbor of the man at the center of the story saw him in his backyard and was concerned enough to immediately call for help around 6 p.m. yesterday.
By then, the man, who was found naked, had already severed his hand using a tool in his garage -- the same place where the severed body part was found.
Given the circumstances, the man's name is not being released, nor is a description or his age beyond the fact that he's an adult. He was rushed to a local hospital where, at last report, he was in serious but stable condition. We wish him a swift and safe recovery.
We'll leave the final word to someone who responded to the APD tweet: "Proof that there's always someone having a worse night than you."
More from our Colorado Crimes archive circa February: "Richard Lancaster, mentally ill man, turned in by his mom after he assembled an arsenal."
