Veteran first-responder Kelly Yamamoto, a district chief and field operations supervisor for the city Emergency Medical Services Division, was singled out Wednesday as 2015 EMS Week Employee of the Year by Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell and Emergency Services Director Mark Rigg.

Yamamoto’s honor was given as part of National EMS Week. Caldwell lauded the city’s paramedics and emergency medical technicians, and pointed to their response during a recent incident involving a downed V-22 Osprey at Bellows Air Force Station as an example of their exemplary work.

“The professionalism, teamwork, and skill of our paramedics and EMTs were on full display in their quick response to the 22 Marines who were aboard the Osprey,” Caldwell said. “Every day on this island, folks with EMS are saving lives.”