Broomall Fire Cadet Saves His Mom’s Life

BROOMALL–Brian Corey’s with the . gave him all the skills he needed to save his mother’s life.

Corey, a 17-year-old Upper Darby High School junior who became a fire cadet in April 2011, was honored on Monday night by the Broomall Fire Co. and the Board of Commissioners for performing the Heimlich maneuver on his mother.

Corey received CPR and first aid training along with other cadets in January 2012, said , director of the Broomall Fire Co.’s Cadet Firefighter Program. 

In February, Corey was playing a video game on his XBox when his mother choked on a pretzel, Tucker said.

With a small, chocolate-covered pretzel lodged in her throat, Cynthia Corey said she was unable to speak, so she kept “banging and banging on the table to get his (her son’s) attention.”

Brian Corey “knew just what to do,” Tucker said. Corey immediately performed the Heimlich maneuver, which cleared his mother’s airway.

“I’m very proud of what my son did,” Cynthia Corey told Marple Newtown Patch after her son was honored.

Cadet Corey later told Marple Newtown Patch he was thankful that he learned the Heimlich maneuver in cadet training.

“If it wasn’t for them teaching me how to do it, I wouldn’t have a mother,” Corey said.

Corey received a plaque from the fire company and a citation from the Board of Commissioners for saving his mother’s life.

“Obviously what you’ve done is beyond the standards of what is done,” Board of Commissioners President Michael Molinaro said.

The Broomall Fire Co. is to train. For more information about the cadet program, visit the Broomall Fire Co's website here.