Six-year-old Azlyn Kaopuiki-Abas hugged and kissed the two people who rescued her from drowning earlier this year at a friend's pool in Salt Lake.

The Kipapa Elementary School girl also presented her rescuers with photos of herself, inscribed with the words, “;Thank you, Jesus, for letting you save me. I love you.”;

Her rescuers, Amberlin Scharsch, 17, and Dean Hashida, were among about 20 recipients awarded certificates for exceptional acts of service or bravery yesterday at the Honolulu Fire Department training center. City lifeguard Bouvey Bradbury was given the Medal of Valor, the department's highest honor given to a civilian who risked his life.

Rescue victims do not usually attend the awards ceremony, but Azlyn's mother, Summer Kaopuiki, requested that her daughter be present.

On May 4, Kaopuiki said, her daughter found herself in water over her head at a friend's pool and could not swim to the wall before she “;swallowed a lot of water.”;

An uncle watching from the poolside alerted Scharsch, a family friend already in the water, that “;the girl went down!”; Kaopuiki said. When Scharsch pulled Azlyn from the bottom of the pool, “;she was purple and not breathing—I totally lost it,”; Kaopuiki added.

Hashida did cardiopulmonary resuscitation on her daughter, said Kaopuiki, who added, “;Thank God they were there.”;

“;The lesson to be learned (from) that one moment I turned my head ... Now whenever my kids are in the water, I'm right there,”; said Kaopuiki.

Medal of Valor winner Bradbury, an off-duty Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services Division lifeguard, braved turbulent surf on Jan. 18 to get to an underwater cave from which he pulled a person to safety.

Other Certificates of Commendation include:

Feb. 9—Kaipo Young rescued a boogie-boarder from rough seas near Alii Beach Park.

April 20—Bryson Imasaka administered the Heimlich maneuver to clear the airway of a choking victim.

May 7—Brian Alpiche, Patrick Baldimor, Ryan Castillo and Peter Victoria used fire extinguishers and a garden hose to extinguish a fire on a second-floor patio.

May 20—Maurice Ekimoto Jr. pulled an unresponsive person from a hotel pool and initiated rescue breathing until emergency responders arrived.

May 31—Peter Lakatani heard his neighbor's smoke alarm sound, entered the smoke-filled kitchen and used a garden hose to extinguish the fire prior to the Honolulu Fire Department's arrival.

June 5—Rene Ramos entered a smoke-filled kitchen and used a garden hose to extinguish a fire.

June 7—Honolulu police officers Darren Cachola and Paul Okamoto investigated smoke at a Kailua home and used garden hoses to extinguish the fire.

Aug. 1—David Shimamoto, Wayne Takabayashi and Collin Wasti rendered aid to an unresponsive person until emergency responders arrived.

Aug. 16—Patrick Emerson, John Gallagher and Brenden Salcedo administered CPR to an unresponsive person until emergency responders arrived.