Massachusetts non-profit, The 100 Club, to support family of fallen state trooper Kevin Trainor

Loved ones of fallen first responders know the tough road ahead for the family of fallen Massachusetts State Trooper Kevin Trainor.

Amy Rice never expected to get a knock on her door in the middle of the night, but that is how she learned her husband had been killed in 2011.

"I never thought this could happen, but when it does happen, in an instant, you don't realize it, but looking back, everything has changed. Like everything," Rice said.

Peabody firefighter Jim Rice was killed in a three-alarm fire deemed to be caused by an electrical issue in a multi-unit home. He left behind Amy and their three young children.

Amy recalls the whirlwind of people around her in the first week after Jim's death, including a police escort to her house. Now, she can empathize with the family of fallen Massachusetts State Police Trooper Kevin Trainor, who was killed this week by a wrong-way driver on Route 1 in Lynnfield.

"For that week, someone walked beside you, someone took you, someone told you how things are going to happen and unfortunately, I feel like that's going to happen with this family as well. They're going to be wrapped in with amazing teams who are going to know how to navigate the next five to seven days," Rice said.

When the funeral is over, Amy also knows that it's important to keep a community around you. 

That is why she is on the Board of Directors for The 100 Club of Massachusetts, a non-profit that assists the families of first responders who are killed in the line of duty, long after their deaths. The assistance is financial and emotional.

"That's kind of what we're known for: the long-term commitment we make to our families. I had dinner out in Western Mass. last week with a family that lost their police officer husband and father in 1973," said the organization's executive director, Tracie Hines.

Amy knows that the road ahead is difficult, but that a community can help along the way. 

"It's not going to be easy, and it's going to be a lot, but it's a lot with love. These groups and these departments are going to embrace them and bring them in as much as they or as little as they want," Rice said