Most of the time police work is just as messy and chaotic as human life in general. But every once in a while, if you’re lucky, things can turn out like a Hollywood movie, where those in danger are saved by the good guys in cinematically spectacular fashion. In Philadelphia recently, two girls trapped in a house fire were crying hysterically and convinced they were about to be burned alive. Bianca Scott, seven years old, and her older sister, Ketura Lang, desperately pounded their fists against the second-floor window of their grandmother’s smoldering row house.

The Detective Investigators’ Association in New York hosted a two day training program to assist officers who have been affected by exceptional events including hostage situations, assaults on officers, brutal death, and intense or negative media coverage. Participants learned the difference between “flashbacks” such as those found with PTSD and “flashbulb” memory. Flashbacks are only present when the officer cannot remove himself from that state of mind.

In South Florida, the Broward Sheriff’s Office is breaking up a special investigative unit dedicated to busting pharmacies and shops that sell prescription medication legally, even as those locations increase in number and overdoses from drugs like Oxycontin continue to skyrocket. Two of the unit’s detectives will go to a new U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration-led prescription drug task force with representatives from law enforcement agencies throughout Florida.