It was an evening last June when an EMS crew from the Coeur d'Alene Fire Department was dispatched to a scene where a vehicle had crashed into a home. Firefighters Nathan Hyder and Dylan Clark found a truck crashed into the garage, its wheels still spinning, its accelerator pressed to the floor, with the female driver unconscious inside and the garage so filled with black smoke and flying debris from the spinning tires that there was no visibility at all. Despite great risk, the donned their breathing apparatus, entered the garage, broke out a window of the pickup, turned off the ignition and rescued the driver, saving her life. Now they're both receiving the State of Idaho Law Enforcement, Firefighting and EMS Medal of Honor, as are three Boise police officers, Adam Crist, Casey Hancuff and Jason Rose, who rescued a critically injured shooting victim in August of 2010; and a U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer who was killed in a gunfight in 1989, Brent "Jake" Jacobson. Jacobson, who was pursuing brothers James and Joseph Pratt after a home-invasion robbery and hostage situation in Sagle when he was shot, is receiving the award posthumously.

The Medal of Honor, which the Idaho Legislature established in 2004, is presented each year at the Idaho Peace Officers Memorial ceremony, which this year is scheduled for Friday at 10 a.m.; the first recipient was slain Idaho state Trooper Linda Huff. "By their selfless actions, these six professionals demonstrated their commitment to the service of others," said Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, who chairs the Idaho Medal of Honor Commission. There's more info here about the award and recipients.