By Zach Winn
2015 was a busy year for Lodi Public Schools Security Officer Jim Byrnes.
Byrnes used the Heimlich maneuver to save a choking student on Dec. 23, the second time he’s saved a choking person in the school where he works in less than eight months.
Although Byrnes says he doesn’t consider himself a hero, he’s the perfect candidate forCampus Safety’s new Heroes program, which honors the people who work to make campuses safer every day. You can submit your Hero nomination by emailing [email protected].
In 25 years as a police officer Byrnes never once saved a choking person, but when he retired as a lieutenant in 2013 and began working at New Jersey’s Washington Elementary School that changed fast.
On April 22, 2015 Byrnes, 46, was in the teacher’s lounge when a substitute teacher in her 70s began choking on a sandwich. Byrnes, who had also worked as a CPR instructor during his time with the police, sprang into action.
“I got behind her, I picked her up out of her chair,” Byrnes later told northjersey.com.
After several Heimlich thrusts Byrnes said the teacher was able to spit out her food and breathe again. The teacher was checked by a nurse and eventually finished her sandwich.
Read the full report HERE››
