The Town of Miami Lakes, its Public Safety Committee and members of the town council hosted a Police and Fire Appreciation Ceremony on Sept. 24 to recognize two first responders for outstanding performance. When a car holding two people crashed into Lake Martha and sank on New Year’s Day, 2019, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue firefighter and diver Ivan Acebo and another diver saved one of those lives while other firefighters rescued the second person from inside the car. Division Chief Danny Cardeso said Acebo’s actions represented the fire department’s motto of “Always Ready, Proud to Serve.” Miami-Dade Police Public Service Aide Vanessa Alonso responds to traffic crashes and reports of burglaries; stolen vehicles; lost and stolen tags; fraud; theft and vandalism. While she works those types of cases, police officers are free to respond to more serious crimes that may happen in town. Assigned to the Miami Lakes district since 2016, Alonso has answered 2,147 calls for service and processed more than 1,335 traffic accidents, officials said. Shown above at left are Firefighter and diver Ivan Acebo and Division Chief Danny Cardeso of Miami-Dade Fire Rescue. In the photo at right are Miami-Dade Police Maj. Javier Ruiz with Public Service Aide Vanessa Alonso.