Fifth grader Tyler White was deep into an exam at Cordello Avenue Elementary School in Central Islip when he accidentally swallowed a water-bottle cap and began to choke.

Tyler’s teacher called for help immediately that Thursday in May. School safety officer Jason Schafer responded, started the Heimlich maneuver, and a short time later, had dislodged the bottle cap from Tyler's throat.

"This is a reminder of how essential our school safety officers are," Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter said on Tuesday at a board meeting, where she presented Schafer with a certificate recognizing his heroism.

"Schafer stepped in during a frightening situation," Carpenter told the audience at Town Hall, "and saved a child’s life."

Tyler, of Central Islip, attended the presentation Tuesday afternoon, grinning but otherwise reserved.

"Thank you, Mr. Jason," Tyler said to Schafer, before the student and the school security officer high-fived and fist-bumped. Schafer thanked Carpenter and then left the meeting. He was not available for comment.

Tyler's harrowing classroom ordeal follows other recent choking incidents involving grade-school students on Long Island where use of the Heimlich maneuver likely saved a life.

Last November, Emily Schoen, a teenager from Oakdale, was honored with a certificate of recognition at a Connetquot school board meeting for saving the life of her driver's education teacher, Diana Marino, after she began choking on a Life Savers candy, Newsday reported at the time.

“I pulled over because we were switching drivers, and when I went to get out of the car I heard Diana try to say something, but all of a sudden something was caught in her throat,” Schoen told Newsday last year. “I started patting her on the back at first, because I thought she was just coughing a little bit. But then she started shaking her head and waving her hands around like crazy.”

Everyone then got out of the car, Schoen continued, and she walked around to the passenger side to see if she could help Marino. The teen told Newsday she then performed the Heimlich maneuver and successfully dislodged the candy from Marino’s throat seconds later.

In April of last year, Newsday reported Francesca Augello, a cafeteria monitor at Wood Park Primary School, received a proclamation from the Suffolk County Legislature for saving a second grader who was choking on a piece of pizza.

"Heroes are ordinary people who make extraordinary decisions in critical moments," Commack schools Superintendent Jordan Cox said of  Augello at the meeting.

Augello said she had no other choice but to try and save the student.

“I’m a mom of three, and my instincts just kicked in,” Augello, of Smithtown, said last year. “I’m just happy everything worked out. You just have to pay attention and be aware what’s going on in the cafeteria.”