blue canary n. an emergency worker (especially a police officer or first responder) whose death alerts other personnel to a hazardous situation. Etymological Note: From the use of canaries in coal mines, whose death would alert miners to the presence of dangerous gases. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Martha recently found a 1938 letter that her grandfather sent to the local police chief in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley. It concerns a suspected thief who her grandfather thought might be persuaded to confess because, he wrote,, the young man surely...
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While the word “respondent” does in fact, according to merriam-webster.com mean “one who responds,” I believe it is more common among those in the heroic professions to refer to themselvese as first responders as opposed to first respondents. Though I’m certainly no authority on the subject, I most often hear the word “respondent” in connection with civil proceedings at law or surveys.
I think you’re right. I’ll change the definition accordingly.