When a woman at the 99 Restaurant & Pub at 404 Pleasant St. in Fall River showed signs of choking, Ben Courville sprang into action.

“I asked if she was choking,” said Courville, a sophomore at Diman Regional Vocational Technical School, “and she nodded.” That’s when Courville performed the Heimlich maneuver, remembering what he’d been taught at Dighton Fire Department, where he has served as a junior firefighter since April of 2023.  

“I just remembered my training,” Courville humbly explained, mentioning that as part of the onboarding with Dighton Fire Department, all junior members are placed on a six-month probationary period, during which time they are required to complete a CPR certification course.

Since that day in June, Courville has been recognized by the city of Fall River, and his actions have even catapulted him to a national stage — to Times Square in New York City, where he was recently an honoree of the Junior First Responder Hero Award, which commemorates selflessness and bravery in first responders who "serve our community every day," the website reads, presented by the First Responders Children’s Foundation.

Read more at heraldnews.com.