Mystic - At its annual awards banquet on Nov. 8, the Mystic Fire Department honored Margo Ward as its 2014 firefighter of the year.

Ward has achieved numerous certifications and professional designations and has served with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environment's Wildfire Firefighting Team. This year, Ward was deployed with the team to Northern California to assist with efforts to contain and extinguish several large forest fires.

In addition, eight department members were recognized for lifesaving in connection with March incident in which they successfully attended to a man in cardiac arrest. The man, who has recovered, and his wife attended the awards ceremony.

According to a statement by the fire department, the couple expressed their gratitude to the firefighters as well as L+M Hospital paramedics and the Mystic River Ambulance Association.