{"id":13713,"date":"2016-02-16T13:47:28","date_gmt":"2016-02-16T13:47:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/georgiaarsoncontrol.org\/?p=13713"},"modified":"2016-02-16T13:47:28","modified_gmt":"2016-02-16T13:47:28","slug":"dalton-ga-quick-thinking-firefighter-saves-choking-boys-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/georgiaarsoncontrol.org\/?p=13713","title":{"rendered":"Dalton, GA- Quick-thinking firefighter saves choking boy\u2019s life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Read the full story HERE\u203a\u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

(Dalton Daily Citizen<\/a>) \u2013 A Dalton mother said she is forever grateful for the man who saved her 2-year-old son\u2019s life after the toddler began choking on a pickle while watching a basketball game in January.<\/p>\n

Mark Richardson, an engineer with the Dalton Fire Department, was at the Sonoraville Recreation Complex watching his daughter McKinleigh, a Coahulla Creek High School student, play basketball against Sonoraville.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were sitting on the benches with our friends Kristina and Jess Langford and their baby Wyatt. He was eating a dill pickle and started choking,\u201d Richardson said.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Kristina Langford said she didn\u2019t even finish yelling Richardson\u2019s name before he had Wyatt in his arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did about four or five back blows and dislodged the pickle,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Richardson said two big chunks came out.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt happened really fast. You never know when something can happen,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Lord put me there at the right time and place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Langford said she thought her son was swallowing the pickles he had been eating.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was pulling it apart, but he must have been holding them in his mouth,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Lt. Josh Townsend has worked with Richardson for 15 years and said Richardson was just doing what he\u2019s been trained to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe stepped right up and took control, performed the back blows and opened the airway just exactly how training says you need to do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Richardson was honored on Jan. 26 at a Dalton Public Safety Commission meeting. Chief Bruce Satterfield presented him with a commendation ribbon and certificate.<\/p>\n

Langford said the situation is even more special because of the relationship her family has with Richardson. Her late husband Andy Reed was also a Dalton firefighter. He died from brain cancer in 2009.<\/p>\n

\u201cAndy was a lifelong friend of mine,\u201d Richardson said. \u201cMy mother used to babysit him when he was a little boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was Richardson who connected Langston with her current husband. They all attend Salem Baptist Church.<\/p>\n

\u201cI fixed Kristina and her current husband up,\u201d Richardson said. \u201cJess is a real good fellow.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Read the full story HERE\u203a\u203a By Shaka Cobb (Dalton Daily Citizen) \u2013 A […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/georgiaarsoncontrol.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/georgiaarsoncontrol.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/georgiaarsoncontrol.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/georgiaarsoncontrol.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/georgiaarsoncontrol.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13713"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/georgiaarsoncontrol.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13715,"href":"https:\/\/georgiaarsoncontrol.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13713\/revisions\/13715"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/georgiaarsoncontrol.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/georgiaarsoncontrol.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/georgiaarsoncontrol.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}