Nineteen years after a deadly earthquake rattled Los Angeles, one man who helped save the life of a police officer will be given an official thank you for his heroism.
According to CBS, Mike Kubeisy pulled an officer, his wife and three other residents from an apartment building in January 1994, following the Northridge Earthquake. The moment was fleeting -- they parted to help other neighbors -- but meaningful.
“God sent him, he did not know that,” said Officer Joseph Jordan, speaking during a reunion with Kubeisy on “700 Club” the next year. “He was preordained to be a rescuer. What can I say to the man who saved my life, to my buddy here.”
The earthquake also brought Kubeisy a serendipitous meeting.
While navigating the rubble, he also rescued Patricia Silden from her collapsed third story balcony. Later that year, they married and bought a house in Simi Valley, and Kubeisy now works as a still photographer for the show "NCIS."
The LAPD discovered the lost interview while reviewing old earthquake coverage and scheduled a ceremony at police headquarters in downtown Los Angeles.
Story continues after photo
In January 1994, a bulldozer begins to tear down a section of the Santa Monica Freeway that collapsed during the Northridge earthquake. (Tim CLARY/AFP/Getty Images)
Just after the magnitude 6.7 quake struck, Kubeisy said he assisted a neighbor down a ladder before moving to Jordan’s door, which was sealed. Eventually, he pried it open and blew out a candle that posed a hazard due to a nearby gas leak.
In the days after the disaster, President Bill Clinton honored Kubeisy for his efforts, but "the LAPD has never properly thanked Mike for rescuing Officer Jordan," the department told Northridge-Chatsworth Patch.
Officer Jordan suffered a fatal heart attack in 1996. The Northridge earthquake resulted in nearly 60 deaths.
Kubeisy told CBS that he would accept the honor only to show his two teenagers, Garret and Connor, the value of self-sacrifice.
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