When a vehicle collision ignited his gas station, Comox Valley resident Junyi Liu rushed outside to rescue the trapped driver on the evening of May 20, 2023.
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In the following months, the 41-year-old man was awarded the Town of Comox鈥檚 Citizen Service Award and the .
Little did he know, Liu鈥檚 local act of heroism would eventually be recognized on the North American stage. On March 25, 2024, the Chinese-born man was awarded the prestigious and a one-time grant of US$5,500.
Junyi, the co-owner of Esso in , responded heroically to a fire, saving a life. Recognized by Town Council, he has now been awarded North America's top civilian honour by Carnegie Hero Fund. Congratulations on this well-deserved recognition, Junyi!
鈥� Town of Comox (@TownofComox)
鈥淚t鈥檚 considered the highest honour for civilian heroism in North America,鈥� said Jewels Phraner, Carnegie Hero Fund Commission director of communication. 鈥淢ore than 10,000 medals have been given out over the course of the commission鈥檚 120-year history.鈥�
The requirements to be a recipient of this award are extremely stringent, explained Phraner.
鈥淎 person must voluntarily risk themselves to an extraordinary degree in saving or attempting to save another person,鈥� she said.
Following the incident, Liu told Black Press Media that despite the danger and initial fear, his instinct kicked in and the rest is history.
鈥淓verything I did was just automatic, I didn鈥檛 think about anything. It went so fast,鈥� Liu said in May 2023. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think that I did something big. I think anyone else who would have been there would have done the same thing as I did.鈥�
According to Phraner, Liu鈥檚 story perfectly fits with the medal鈥檚 ethos.
鈥淭his was an extraordinary act and Junyi kept his wits about him. He risked his life to pull the driver out of this car that was completely covered in flames. I think that that speaks to his character and speaks to him as a person.鈥�
Scottish-American philanthropist and industrialist Andrew Carnegie started the Carnegie Hero Fund Commission initiative in 1904 to highlight civilian acts of heroism so they would not go unnoticed.
鈥淎ndrew Carnegie鈥� knew that he couldn鈥檛 (push) others to act heroically, but he thought that the world would be a better place if we all knew about鈥� these heroes,鈥� said Phraner.
鈥淲e have found that a lot of our heroes are extremely humble. They think that they did something that anyone would do and they were just in the right place at the right time,鈥� Phraner said. 鈥淚 think one of the biggest values of becoming a Carnegie hero is that we are an independent organization that can point to people and objectively say 鈥榃hat you did was special and brave.鈥� 鈥�
Black Press Media reached out to Liu for comments on receiving the award but did not receive a reply by deadline.
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