SANDPOINT — It isn’t often that law enforcement and first responders are honored for the dangerous work they do for the community, Bonner County Sheriff Darryl Wheeler said. 

But on Tuesday, Oct. 27, community members and local first responders honored three men at the Bonner County weekly business meeting for their lifesaving efforts for an elderly woman during a Sept. 29 structure fire in Priest River.  

Officer Scott Kennedy of the Priest River Police Department and deputies Keith Trout and Justin Penn of the Bonner County Sheriff's Office were presented the lifesaving award after they responded to a call of a structure fire at a multi-unit residential building that housed elderly and disabled residents, according to Wheeler. 

After receiving reports of the structure fire, Kennedy responded to the call, as did Trout and Penn, who were patrolling nearby. The trio arrived on scene to find most occupants of the building already evacuating the scene, except for an elderly woman calling for help from her apartment.  

Working together to retrieve the woman from the building, Kennedy, Trout and Penn broke multiple windows in her apartment to find a safe exit route. The woman was then carried through the window and into safety.  

"Deputy Penn, Deputy Trout and Officer Kennedy have lived up to the highest standard of law enforcement; they put the safety of others before their personal safety. They have brought great credit to themselves and the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office and the Priest River Police Department. If not for their bravery on that day, an elderly female would have certainly perished," Wheeler said in a Facebook post about the life-saving efforts.  

A male in an adjacent apartment was also escorted out.  

Priest River Police Chief Drew McLain also praised the gentlemen and shared his appreciation for the collaborative efforts between the city and county's law enforcement.