CORAL SPRINGS, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida firefighter worked against the clock to help a woman give birth in her car, Friday night.
Coral Springs Fire Lt. Mike Farmer said he is used to emergency calls, but he had no idea he was in for a special delivery.
Farmer and his crew were on their way back to the station when a frantic 911 call came in.
“My wife is having a baby right now,” the expecting mother’s husband told the operator.
The couple was stuck in their car at a busy Coral Springs intersection, and the baby wasn’t going to wait.
“We’re in traffic. We can’t even get to the hospital,” the husband told the 911 dispatcher. “We need somebody.”
As luck would have it, Farmer and the other firefighters were just down the road.
By the time they got to Riverside Drive and Sample Road, there wasn’t a second to spare.
“I made the decision, ‘We’re going to go ahead and deliver this child right here,” said Farmer. “Actually, Mom made that decision.”
Farmer said the woman had already gone into labor. “Mom’s in the back, holding the baby in, and it began to crown,” he said, “so at that time, we didn’t really have time to get her to the truck.”
Farmer rolled up his sleeves and brought the baby boy into the world.
“Obviously, this is not a planned delivery, but when you’re there, you keep her calm, you reassure her. ‘You’re doing a great job, baby is doing great,'” he said. “‘Dad’s over there.’ We tried to get him involved as well. We congratulate him.”
The couple and the baby were later taken to the hospital. They are all doing well.
The proud father sent 7News a photo of him holding his newborn son.
As it turns out, this isn’t Farmer’s first time delivering a baby. He’s been a firefighter for 20 years, and this is his 14th delivery.
Farmer said it’s been eight years since the last one, but thanks to his training, he didn’t miss a beat.
“It’s like riding a bike,” he said. “You don’t forget.”
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