On Thursday, May 5, 2022, San Diego Fire-Rescue Chief Colin Stowell presented the 2022 Spirit of Courage Award to Ligregory Crawford and Fadi Moasa

Ligregory Crawford and his wife were up late on September 9, 2021 when they heard a cry for help. As they stepped outside, they saw flames shooting out of the garage two doors away. The cry for help was from their neighbor, and she was shouting “my kids, my kids!” Ligregory ran to the burning garage while his wife went back inside to call for help.

The front door of the garage would not open, so Ligregory raced into the backyard to see if there was another way in. Discovering nothing, he ran home to try and find something to open the garage door. Tools in hand, he darted back to the inferno but couldn’t get the door open. He yelled into the night “someone come help me!”

Fadi Moasa was standing outside the nearby gas station where he worked when he heard the shout for help. He quickly locked up and hurried toward the cry, not knowing about the fire or the kids trapped inside. Once he arrived, he instantly realized the urgency in getting into the garage, and with no thought to his own safety, started kicking the garage door in. Seeing what Fadi was doing, Ligregory joined in kicking and tearing at the garage door until there was enough room for them to reach in. Grasping for anything inside, Ligregory managed to make contact with one of the child’s arms, but he had fallen unconscious against the garage door. Together Fadi and Ligregory pulled the child out and away from the flames. Both men realized the second child was unaccounted for, but as they were deciding their next move, the child miraculously walked around the side of the garage having pulled himself out of the danger. Video shows that the fire completely destroyed the garage, but because of the actions of these men, both young children survived.