By Damien Fisher
The Sentinel & Enterprise
FITCHBURG, Mass. — Firefighters saved a 70-year-old woman choking on her lunch, according to Acting Deputy Chief Brian Belliveau.
Firefighters Dante Suarez and P.J. Roy responded to the community room at the housing complex at 350 Water St., for a report of a woman choking, Belliveau said.
Roy found the woman lying on the floor and unresponsive.
“She was completely blue,” Roy said.
The woman began choking on her chicken and rice lunch, and the janitor tried performing the Heimlich maneuver, but it did not stop her choking, Roy said.
“She was choking on her lunch, is what it appeared to be,” Roy said.
Fitchburg Police Officer Keith Bourne was first to the scene after the 911 call and helped the janitor get the woman from her chair to the floor, Roy said.
Roy and Suarez then put the woman back in the chair so they could try the Heimlich again, Roy said.
“I did (the Heimlich) two times, and then (Suarez) cleared her throat,” Roy said.
The woman began making a rapid recovery soon after the firefighters cleared her throat, Roy said. She regained consciousness and was speaking by the time she was placed in the ambulance, Roy said.
Roy refused to take sole credit for the rescue, saying he was helped by Suarez and Bourne.
“It was a team effort,” Roy said.
Roy joined the Fitchburg Fire Department in 2006 after spending about six years as a firefighter in Shirley. This is the first time he has performed the Heimlich maneuver.
Most choking patients do not require the Heimlich, Belliveau said.
“I know from experience, it is not common,” Belliveau said.
Choking patients often do not have their airways completely blocked, allowing rescue workers time to get them to the hospital, Belliveau said.
When the airway is completely blocked, firefighters and EMTs must work quickly, he said.
“In this case, it had to be done,” Belliveau said.
The woman’s blue skin and the fact she was not responsive indicated her breathing system was failing because of the blockage, Belliveau said.
These situations are what firefighters and EMTs train for, Belliveau said.
“We were just doing our jobs,” Roy said.