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Two residents who dived into waters in East Honolulu to save a swimmer in distress were among those receiving commendations from the Honolulu Fire Department Nov. 26.
Allen Brandimarti and Michael Von Wiegandt were at Sandy Beach when they saw a man without fins dive into waters on the Hanauma Bay end of the beach at nightfall on May 24.
When they realized he was caught in a strong current and heading toward the Halona Blow Hole, they made their way to the cove at the "From Here to Eternity" beach on the Hanauma Bay side of Halona and dived in to save the swimmer.
Also issued commendations were:
» Resident Nicole Lucero and off-duty HFD firefighter Clifford Kalae Miller, who assisted a man who collapsed in a restaurant on Dec. 18, 2009. The two performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation until emergency responders arrived.
» Residents Norman Kaneshige, Robert Kent, Matthew Nacnac and Victor Santiago, who assisted a diver who was caught in a strong current off Paradise Cove on March 23. They guided the diver to safety before emergency responders arrived.
» Off-duty firefighter Antoni Valenti, who extricated the driver of an overturned tractor-trailer on Moanalua Road on June 7. He remained with the person until emergency responders arrived.
» Resident Steven Hu, who entered a burning Mililani home on July 1 and used a fire extinguisher to put out a kitchen fire before firefighters arrived.
