PARIS, Ky. (FOX 56) — A school official used an emergency medical maneuver to save a student on Wednesday.

The assistant principal of Paris High School, Robert McCann, is being celebrated online for using the Heimlich maneuver to save a student during lunchtime.

McCann said he did what anyone would do in that situation.

“I don’t know that I necessarily think of myself as a hero per se. But I think, you know, when you’re in that kind of public education role, I mean, we all kind of serve some sort of hero for some kid somewhere, sometime. So, I was I’m just fortunate to be in, I guess, the right place at the right time for that situation,” said Mccann. 

McCann has been an educator for 18 years now, this is his first year at Paris High School.

“We’re definitely in the role of changing lives and do so you know, any time you can do something like that, it’s just another example of how teachers and public educators change people’s lives”

In Kentucky, CPR training, which includes the Heimlich maneuver, is not required for all staff. But this instance shows that knowledge is essential.

Not every district limits itself to what the law requires, but even a larger district like Fayette County Public Schools only requires two CPR-trained staff per building. Jane Lynch, an instructor for CPR of Lexington, previously told FOX 56 the training is not intensive.

“You allow 4 hours for the class but the DVD is about an hour and 20 minutes — view and do. So really between an hour and a half-two hours, you’re in and out,” Lynch told FOX 56.

In January, a student in Scott County was saved when a custodian performed the Heimlich on them.

Vasi Prokos contributed to this story.