TSA officer uses Heimlich maneuver to save choking passenger
Juneau AK September 20 2019
A Transportation Security Administration officer recently saved the life of a passenger at an Alaska airport when she choked on a grape.
Brenda Irizarry, the lead transportation security officer at Juneau International Airport, performed the Heimlich maneuver as TSA supervisor Jessie Ashton called emergency services. Irizarry managed to dislodge the grape and save the passenger.
“I am extremely proud of Irizarry’s life-saving actions and Ashton’s leadership by keeping her cool in the face of a medical emergency,” Alaska Assistant Federal Security Director Dave McDermott said in a statement.
The passenger has special needs, according to the TSA, and the family was grateful to Irizarry.
“Brenda’s quick action saved [my daughter] from certain hospitalization while waiting at Alaska Airlines,” the girl’s father wrote in a letter shared by TSA. “[My daughter] had swallowed a large grape and was choking; another waiting passenger ran to TSA for help. Brenda, after several attempts using the Heimlich Maneuver, got the grape to pop out to the floor of the terminal. God bless you Brenda, thank you.”
