Spokane County Fire District 3 honors Ramos and Swift with 2014 firefighter and officer of the year awards

Spokane County Fire District 3 honored a pair of volunteer firefighters at its annual Firefighter Appreciation Banquet March 21.

Firefigther/EMT Jolissa Ramos and Lieutenant Firefighter Luke Swift were recipients of the 2014 Firefighter and Officer of the Year awards respectively. Ramos is a five-year member of Four Lakes Fire Station No. 22 and an instructor at Spokane Community College while Swift works installing fire and security alarms for Allied Security and has been stationed at Spangle Fire Station No. 36 for six and a half years.

"We absolutely could not operate without our part-time, paid on call firefighter/first responders and Jolissa and Luke are great representatives that are committed to helping this community," SCFD 3 Fire Chief Bruce Holloway said in a news release.

Other firefighters and first responders were also recognized for their years of service, and all members were thanked for their ongoing commitment for the challenging responsibility they accept on a daily basis, District 3 said in the release.

Spokane County Fire District 3 is located in southwest Spokane County and headquartered in Cheney.

The district is 560 square miles, third largest in the state of Washington, and composed of 10 stations, 45 vehicles, seven full-time staff members and 120 part time, paid on call firefighters/first responders.