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Airman's quick action helps save lives from fire

  • Published
  • By Maj. Richard Komurek
  • 8th Air Force Public Affairs
BARKSDALE AFB, La. --  What started as a typical weekday evening for a Barksdale Air Force Airman who works a night job as a pizza deliveryman, turned out be a night of courage that brought out the warrior spirit in him and helped save lives.

On Sept. 8, while making a delivery to an apartment complex in Shreveport, La., Staff Sgt. Lorenzo Crawford came face to face with an intense building fire. Flames quickly engulfed one apartment and spread to other neighboring units. While other people began to gather as spectators and shoot pictures with their cell phones, Crawford instinctively leapt into action to warn other apartment residents of the impending danger. He immediately began pounding loudly on the doors of several nearby apartments and yelled, "Fire, fire," which allowed several people to escape and run to safety.

Then, just as the first of six fire trucks began arriving, Crawford noticed a man in emotional distress standing near an apartment at the very heart of the fire. The man said, "My mom's in there, my mom's in there," and appeared to be considering an attempt to run inside the burning building to save her. Crawford quickly assessed the fire was too intense for anyone to survive without protective equipment and repeatedly warned the man that it was too dangerous to go back inside.

While firefighters took over the scene, Crawford stayed by the man's side to console him as it became clear his mother would not survive. In all, 45 firefighters responded to the fire, which killed the woman and displaced three other families whose apartments were also damaged.

Crawford, who works as a client system administrator at the 608th Air Operations Center on base, is a shy, modest man of few words who works on information technology systems that support crisis action planning and helps provide integrated global strike capabilities. Although Crawford still seems perplexed that he reacted the way he did, it was not a surprise to Lt. Col. Brett NeVille, who is Crawford's supervisor and commander of the 608th ACOMS.

"Staff Sgt. Crawford acted without hesitation for the safety and welfare of others in a very dangerous situation. His actions reflect our core values to the highest degree, and his extraordinary personal leadership serves as a model for us to follow as Airmen," said NeVille.

The leadership that Crawford displayed may be a rare commodity in the civilian world, but it's a perfect example of the warrior spirit and service before self ethos that makes Airmen the Air Force's most valuable asset. So while others may sit and watch the world go by, Airmen, like Crawford, continue the proud legacy of the Eighth Air Force to act decisively, overcome challenges and lead the Air Force and nation boldly into the future.