For Staff Sgt. Seth Dooley, lifesaving skills are part of the job. As a CPR and first aid instructor at Mountain Home Air Force Base, he helps train about 1,400 airmen each year in first aid and emergency response.

But one early morning, those lessons moved out of the classroom and into reallife when Dooley was forced to act in a life-or-death emergency.

Dooley was driving through Boise around 5:15 a.m. when another driver honked to get his attention. What followed was a scene he describes as something “straight out of a nightmare.”

A man in a nearby vehicle was slumped over, partially hanging out of his car, unresponsive and clearly in distress.

“I pulled up to a stoplight, and the car next to me honked to grab my attention,” Dooley said. “They asked me if he was all right.”

Dooley immediately pulled over while another bystander called 911. As he approached the man, it was clear this was a medical emergency.

“He was covered in a sheen of sweat,” Dooley recalled. “His eyes were like shaking. He was breathing super fast and he had like a froth coming out of his mouth. So I knew he wasn’t OK.”

Thinking quickly, Dooley carefully removed him from the car.

Drawing directly from his Red Cross training, he assessed the scene, checked responsiveness and followed instructions from the dispatcher.

Although the man briefly regained awareness, the situation escalated suddenly.

“He looked at me, eye to eye, addressed me clearly and said, ‘tell my wife I’m sorry,’ and then just stopped breathing.”

Dooley checked for a pulse, noticed faint breathing and immediately took action. He positioned the man safely and administered back blows — techniques he had learned and taught countless times.

The man began coughing again, and Dooley continued monitoring him, keeping him as stable and conscious as possible until first responders arrived.

From start to finish, Dooley cared for the man for nearly 20 minutes, remaining calm despite the intensity of the moment.

“I was freaking out,” he admitted. “But just kind of falling back on that training and relying on those instincts — this is what I know to do, this is what I can do. It really just guided me through the situation until the professionals could get there.”

The man was transported to the hospital, where Dooley later learned he was admitted for further care.

In July, the American Red Cross of Idaho and East Oregon presented Seth with a Lifesaving Award at its annual board meeting, honoring his actions and the skills he used to save another person's life.

While this was Dooley’s first time using his training in a real-life emergency, he emphasizes how critical that preparation was.

 “Obviously it was really scary in the moment, but I’m really grateful that I had the tools imparted on to me,” he said. “And I just thank God that I was in the right spot at the right time.”