Seven Suffolk firefighters and police officers were honored at the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce’s Valor Awards breakfast on Friday at the Renaissance Portsmouth-Norfolk Waterfront Hotel.

The awards honor public safety officers who display bravery and heroism in extremely difficult and unsafe circumstances, save lives of those they encounter and solve difficult cases. In all, 42 officers, firefighters, medics and agencies were honored from throughout South Hampton Roads.

The honorees are chosen by a committee that included Suffolk Police Maj. Steve Patterson.

This year’s ceremony also included an Ultimate Sacrifice Award, given to the family of Officer Brian Jones of the Norfolk Police Department. He was killed on May 30, 2014, when he responded to a call of a suspect shooting at random people and vehicles. A 17-year-old high school student, Mark Rodriguez, also died in the same incident.

Jones’ widow and two other police officers who also responded, Curtis Allison and Toofan Shahsiah, received standing ovations from the hundreds-strong crowd. Allison, who also was wounded in the struggle with the suspect, and Shahsiah received Gold Medals of Valor.

From Suffolk, receiving a Bronze Medal of Valor was Suffolk Fire Department Lt. Steven A. Henkle. He was among the responders to a nighttime residential structure fire in the 200 block of Holladay Street on April 15, 2014.

Upon learning from a neighbor that there was a woman inside the house, Henkle entered through the bedroom window where the woman had last been seen. Despite heavy fire and smoke, Henkle found the woman lying about eight feet inside the window, picked her up and handed her out to another firefighter. The woman is now alive and well, it was reported at the breakfast.

At the same time, engine and rescue crews were trying to make their way through the house to the victim’s bedroom when they lost water pressure on their hoseline and had to retreat from the heavy fire conditions. They later discovered the fire was so intense it had burned through the hose, causing the loss of pressure.

Detective William Shockley received an Investigative Merit Award for his work on the investigation into the murder of downtown businessman Donald Carter. Shockley worked nearly 24 hours straight to interview suspects, resulting in three quick arrests. He then conducted numerous follow-up tasks and completed about 500 pages of documents necessary for the prosecution.

Detectives Jeffrey Lurie and Alex Johnson also received Investigative Merit Awards for their work on a months-long string of credit union burglaries, including one on Feb. 8, 2014, at the Metropolitan Church Credit Union on County Street and another at the Northern Star Federal Credit Union in Harbour View.

In addition, four Suffolk Police officers were honored with Lifesaving Awards.

Officer Ashley Allen earned an award for saving the life of a neighbor who had attempted to commit suicide on Feb. 8, 2014. She was awakened by her neighbor, who explained her husband was attempting to commit suicide in their closet, but the neighbor said she was afraid to go in. Allen retrieved her duty weapon and badge and entered the other apartment, where the victim’s brother told Allen the victim was deceased. Allen went to the closet and found the man lying face down on the floor. He was warm but not breathing. Allen helped restore the man’s breathing again.

Officers Shane Sukowaski and Daniel Nesbitt received Lifesaving Awards for their response to a man suffering a cardiac arrest on July 14, 2014. They used an automatic external defibrillator, chest compressions and rescue breaths until the man began to breathe on his own. Medics arrived shortly after that and transported the man to the hospital, where he made a full recovery and was released from the hospital.

Officer Samantha Blake also received a Lifesaving Award for her response to a cardiac arrest on April 12. When she arrived, the 70-year-old man was unresponsive and had no pulse. She began CPR, and the man started breathing again before medics arrived. They transported him to the hospital, where his condition improved.