September 17, 1990. Anne Marie Mason remembers it was a beautiful day. She was living with her family in a townhouse in Ashburn Village. She was in her kitchen, windows open, enjoying a quiet moment while her son was at school.
All of a sudden, she heard ear-piercing shrieks outside the house. It was her neighbor three doors down.
The woman was holding her son, who was violently choking on a peach pit. Mason immediately raced out of the house and jumped into action. She performed the Heimlich maneuver several times until the child had safely coughed up the pit.
“God, that’s like the greatest feeling… when he let out the cry and I knew his airway was clear, that was just amazing,” Mason said.
Mason wasn’t just being a hero that day. It was her training kicking in. You see – Anne Marie Mason was a firefighter. And not just any firefighter. She was the first female firefighter in Ashburn’s history.
Read the full story of Mason’s experience — including how she unexpectedly got on the firefighter path, how the men in the company greeted her, and what she’s doing now — all over at the Ashburn Magazine website here.