FALL RIVER, MASS. (WHDH) - A 15-year-old Dighton Junior Firefighters candidate stepped in to save a woman who was choking at a Fall River restaurant Sunday.
Ben Courville was out to dinner with his mom, Christine, at the 99 Restaurant when he noticed the woman sitting at the table next to him was choking on her food.
“I saw some stuff that wasn’t really normal and I asked if she was choking and she nodded her head, so that’s when I got up and I performed the Heimlich maneuver,” Ben said.
Christine watched as her son got up from his seat and rushed over to the woman to do exactly what he learned during his training.
“When I saw him, he just stopped and he looked up and said, ‘Are you choking?’ And he just got up,” Christine said. “He got her, swung her around, got behind her, and started doing the Heimlich.”
The woman’s family showed their appreciation for paying for the Courvilles’ meals.
“She said you saved my daughter’s life and the daughter came over and hugged him,” Christine said.
Ben said the Junior Firefighters program has a six-month probationary period during which participants get CPR and first responder certified. He said he hopes his story inspires people to learn basic life-saving skills like the Heimlich and CPR.
“I just think people should learn that stuff in case, even if it’s just a family member at the dinner table, it’s definitely helpful to know,” Ben said.
The Dighton Fire Department took to Facebook to thank Ben for his actions and devotion to the department.
“Notifications like this is what makes the time and effort that ALL of the Dighton Junior Firefighters instructors devote to these young men and women well worth it,” the department said.
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