First responders train for emergencies and hope they never have to use that training.

But last Tuesday, the Carbon County commissioners’ office learned firsthand just how quickly something could happen.As commissioners’ office secretary Ida Steele was eating an apple, she began to choke.“I couldn’t say anything,” she said. “I just kept pointing to my apple.”Another employee, Lisa Marks, knew Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein would know what to do to save the Summit Hill woman’s life and alerted the volunteer firefighter, who was in a meeting.He quickly sprang into action and gave Steele the Heimlich maneuver.“It is something I have been training to do for over 45 years,” Nothstein said. “This was actually the first time I ever had to use it (the Heimlich maneuver). You just never know when and where you’re going to use that training.”During the county commissioners’ meeting last week, Nothstein’s fellow commissioners recognized their colleague’s actions that helped save Steele.“It’s important we recognize people like Wayne, emergency services people, EMTs, first responders, policemen and women and our volunteer firemen, which Wayne has been for over 40 years,” Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard said.“I’m very proud of him and I’m very proud of Lisa for her quick actions,” he added. “It’s impressive when you see someone who jumps in and knows what to do.”Commissioner William O’Gurek also commended Nothstein.“I’m very proud of Wayne,” he said. “That was some moment. When you witness those things, you come to the realization how important it is to have those people who can do the things that Wayne does.”Nothstein tried to take the spotlight off himself, saying that this shows just how important training is to first responders.O’Gurek said he heard from some employees and suggested that the county hold training for its employees who would like to get certified lifesaving measures like CPR and the Heimlich maneuver.“It was very scary,” Steele said. “Thank God he was there.”