A fifth-grade boy who paid attention when the Heimlich maneuver was performed on his sister used the procedure to save a choking classmate.

On Monday, 10-year-old Ryan Tyler noticed a classmate, identified only as Brandon, choking on a hamburger in the cafeteria of Maplewood Elementary School in Puyallup, Wash., and sprang into action, KING5.com reported.

"His face ... started to turn purple and blue," Ryan told King5.com, adding that he ran over and wrapped his arms around his friend and performed the Heimlich maneuver.

"I just pushed twice," he said, "and it just came up."

Brandon, who is doing well, told the Web site that prior to Ryan's performing the maneuver on him, it felt as though he "didn't have any air at all. My face felt like it was burning up."