Editorial:

It was a taxing week for the Glendale Fire Department.

Just as our firefighters were coping with the two of their own being injured in a late-night house fire, they were called into action for one of the more serious urban brush fires to hit Glendale in recent years.

To the critics who’ve blasted the Fire Department for being bloated and overpaid, let this week serve as a stark reminder of why this city has chosen to fund the agency as a priority. There have been other serious brush fires — one near Brand Park, the other in La Tuna Canyon — since June alone, and the latest fire, at 60-acres near Glenoaks Canyon, was just the latest example of why we as a city pay a premium to have a Class 1 department.

We hope they also took notice of the firefighter who is still coping with third-degree burns to 20% of his body that he sustained while battling a house blaze Monday night.

Between his injuries and a saved neighborhood a day later, there’s little wiggle room for Fire Department critics, who’ve been conspicuously absent from the circuit in recent days.

Every department has its shortcomings, but this week, for the Glendale Fire Department, bravery and hard work were not one of them.