The defining moment of 8-year-old Thomas Conley’s life-saving intervention, who applied the Heimlich hold to save classmate Isaiah Rodriguez at Arizona elementary school, was captured on a security camera.

“I heard him crying, so I thought what was going on. For a second I didn’t know what he was doing. But I finally realized he was choking so I applied the Heimlich hold,” the 8-year-old student described about what happened as his classmate, it turned out, had choked on a grape rose.

“I didn’t want Isaiah to die,” added the 8-year-old Conley, who was awarded a prize by the local fire department on Tuesday.

According to local media reports, Conley was by chance next to Isaiah as this was not the usual seat in which he sat in the school’s restaurant.

It was reported that just the night before the incident, the little hero had discussed with his mother what to do if someone was drowning.

The local fire department awarded Conley for his “heroic action” with him simply saying “Don’t be afraid to help anyone in need.”