Brenda McCord and Patricia Inago were eating lunch at the Freedom Inn last month when they saw a Soldier choking in the dining facility.

"We both jumped up and ran to him," said McCord, a legal administrative specialist with the U.S. Army Claims Service here.

McCord and Inago, a claims examiner from the Fort Hamilton Legal Office in Brooklyn, N.Y., noticed that the Soldier was not breathing. McCord and Inago each took turns performing the Heimlich maneuver.

Milton McLean, a program analyst with Fort Meade's Plans, Analysis and Integration Office, saw the commotion and offered his help by doing the Heimlich as well. The Soldier began breathing again.

The fast thinking and emergency training of these three civilians may have saved a man's life.

"A team of people were there at the right time to help him," McCord said.

Marcia Flagg, education coordinator at Kimbrough Ambulatory Care Center, said most incidents in which people need emergency assistance occur outside of a health care facility. As a result, every adult should have the proper training and skills to help others.

During the observation of National Preparedness Month, people are encouraged to make preparedness a priority. Becoming trained in administering the Heimlich maneuver, CPR and first aid should be at the top of the list.

National Preparedness Month is a 6-year-old observance held every September. This year's theme is "Get a kit, Make a plan, Be informed, Get involved."

Although it is not Kimbrough's mission to provide emergency training, service members and Department of Defense civilians may be trained in the Heimlich maneuver and CPR on a case-by-case basis, Flagg said.

Kimbrough recommends family members receive training through the American Heart Association or the American Red Cross.

McCord, who has worked for the Department of the Air Force, and McLean, a retired sergeant first class, received their training in CPR and the Heimlich maneuver through the military. Inago received her training from her husband, a New York City firefighter.

"I've never had to use the training, [but] I'm glad I know how to use it," Inago said. "I'm glad I have the knowledge."

The Heimlich maneuver is a series of under-the-diaphragm abdominal thrusts used to help clear a blocked airway in conscious adults who are choking on a foreign object or on children over the age of 1.

To perform abdominal thrusts, the rescuer stands behind the choking victim and uses his or her fist to exert pressure on the bottom of the victim's diaphragm. This action lifts the diaphragm and forces enough air from the lungs to create an artificial cough. The cough is intended to move and expel the obstructing foreign body from the blocked airway.

The American Red Cross offers adult CPR classes, which include instructions on the Heimlich maneuver and rescue techniques for children, at locations throughout Anne Arundel County three times a week.

Jane Aksoy, supervisor of Health and Safety Services at the organization, said that through video and hands-on demonstrations, people learn how to use blows to the back and abdominal thrusts to help a person who is choking and conscious. At the end of the four-hour course, people are given an oral or written test. Those who pass are given a certificate of completion, which is valid for one year.

After administering the emergency technique, McLean said he is not a hero. "I don't need any recognition," he said. "I'm just grateful that he [the Soldier] was able to walk away."

For information about emergency training, go to www.americanheart.org or www.redcross.org.