SAUGUS — The town has a hero among its residents, and he happens to be a third-grader at the Belmonte Upper Elementary School STEAM Academy.
Jacob Puglisi, 8, took action when a fellow student was choking on a nacho during lunch, performing the Heimlich maneuver on his classmate while other students went to get the teacher on duty at the time.
“He didn’t even hesitate for a second,” said Belmonte Principal Tracey Ragucci, who credited the young lifesaver for “knowing how to react at his age, a student in third grade.”
When not in school, Puglisi enjoys soccer, basketball, and baseball. For Halloween, he dressed as his favorite character from the online video game Fortnite. Puglisi’s interests in school are far-flung; he counts math, science, reading, and writing among his favorite subjects.
During lunch, Puglisi was sitting in his assigned cafeteria seat when he noticed a classmate choking on a nacho.
Without hesitation, Puglisi then jumped up and ran over to perform the Heimlich maneuver on the classmate.
“I looked over and I saw him choking, so I helped him,” said Puglisi.
Puglisi said his mother, Erica, taught him how to act in such a situation by showing him the steps of the Heimlich Maneuver.
“I felt happy to help,” he said.
Belmonte Vice Principal Patricia Romano also wished to share her pride in Puglisi.
“It’s a great story to have and we were so proud of him for doing what he did,” she said. “Just being so observant (with) that happening nearby.”
During a School Committee meeting right before the Nov. 2 election, committee members took time to remark upon Puglisi’s quick action and show their gratitude.
“We had a young hero at the Belmonte STEAM Academy; I was so excited about this,” said Chairman Thomas Whittredge. “The kid’s a hero. It’s unbelievable. I was so ecstatic to hear this.”
Whittredge explained the scenario and how Puglisi was taught by his mother.
“His mother has taught him the Heimlich maneuver. It just goes to show (that) sometimes we teach our kids these things hoping they’ll never need it,” he added. “Can you imagine if (Puglisi) wasn’t there? He was in the right place at the right time, he knew what he was doing, and was calm, cool, and collected.”
“I have trained on the Heimlich maneuver years and years ago, but you never know in that situation if you’re going to freeze up,” member Ryan Fisher said to the committee. “He’s a third-grader and that happens, and (he) jumps into action; that tells a lot about him and where he’s going in life.
“Think of this: How many of us would run and try to get help or run and get an adult? He ran to the problem and he took care of it, just amazing.”
Member John Hatch shared his gratitude and respect for Puglisi, joking with the committee that he wanted to hire him.
Whittredge ended this portion of the meeting by inviting the young hero to a future committee session so the members could congratulate him in person.
“Jacob, if we get back on term, I want to have you sitting in the chairman’s chair and hit that gavel,” said Whittredge.
