RURAL HALL, N.C. --

A local firefighter was in the right place at the right time Tuesday afternoon.

Eric Stewart was enjoying lunch with his son at Rural Hall Elementary when a teacher ran over to the table to inform him that another student was choking.

Stewart sprang into action and gave three abdomen thrusts to 9-year-old fourth-grader Darrell Cates.

On the third thrust, the chicken nugget that had gotten lodged in Cates' throat came out.

"I popped the chicken nugget in my mouth. The next thing I know, I couldn't breathe," Cates said. "I was like, 'Lord, get someone over here. I don't want to choke to death."

Stewart, who works for the Rural Hall Fire Department, said he doesn't consider himself a hero, just a firefighter doing what he's been trained to do.

"Thank goodness the Lord put me here that day for a reason," Stewart said.

Stewart and Cates were reunited at the school on Wednesday.

"Thank you very much for saving my life," Cates told Stewart. "I didn't want to die."

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