Safety first. Most of us are familiar with those two words, especially their application in the workplace.

City of Washington employees have been taking and continue to takes those words seriously.

Last week, several city departments were recognized for safety awards they received from the N.C. Department of Labor. The departments are those in which the risks of death or injury are high.

The departments combined earned five gold awards and one silver award. A gold award is presented to those employees whose work force did not have any lost workday or light-duty cases during 2010. A silver award is presented to those employees whose work force did not have any lost workday cases in which an employee could not come to work beyond the day of the injury.

The water resources division of the Public Works Department earned its eighth-consecutive gold award. The general services division of the Public Works Department earned its third-consecutive silver award. The Washington Fire-Rescue-EMS Department earned its second-consecutive gold award. Washington Electric Utilities earned its first-year gold award. The Parks and Recreation Department earned its first-year gold award.

These awards show commitment and hard work by city employees to work safely and make sure their workplace is as safe as possible.

Whether a department picked up its eighth-consecutive safety award or its first safety award, an atmosphere of safety benefits city employees, the city and city residents.

We commend the departments and their employees for the efforts they undertook to maintain safe workplaces.

They serve as an example for all workers in the public and private sectors.

When it comes to the workplace, the home and any other place, safety must come first.