The Red Cross today recognized 12 people whose quick thinking saved lives, including a mom, a second-grader and an off duty firefighter, honored and thanked at this morning's ceremony at the Doubletree Hotel.

Sierra Barnhart is a mother of four who rescued her kids when their house caught on fire in January and ran to get help.

"As a mom, you know, I've always said that I would die for my kids, and that's my job to do, you know, protect them. So when I knew that my kids were in danger, my mom and since kicked in and I was like, I have to save my kids, no matter what," said Sierra Barnhart, the recipient of the Good Samaritan Adult award. "So that was my main focus. It didn't matter my house is burning, my stuff was going. It mattered that I got my kids out and I got them safe."

Just like Barnhart, David Diaz Junior knew what he had to do when he saw a classmate who was choking.

Diaz is seven years old and performed the Heimlich. Something he learned from watching a TV show.

"I was watching a show called Good Doctor, and then I'm like, you know what? I got to keep that story in my brain."

The Red Cross says today's event highlights that there's good news out there and the importance of being ready. 

"if there's anything you can take away besides that good feeling is the notion of being prepared," said Southern Tier executive director Zachariah Riley. "You know, fortune favors the prepared. Take a CPR class. We have free hands, only CPR classes. Just get down and do compressions. That's enough to get somebody, you know, a step further into being relief medical and being able to save a life. So i would say be prepared, whether it's having a kid at home so that if a house fire happens or, you know, another flood, unfortunately happens, you're prepared and you're ready. Just be prepared to step in if needed."

Because as we saw, be prepared could save a life.