Woman Gives Birth To Baby At East Brentwood Firehouse

EAST BRENTWOOD, NY - Firefighters and EMTs helped a woman give birth at the East Brentwood Fire Department headquarters last week.

At 6 a.m. on Saturday, the crew of first assistant chief/advanced life support technician Erik Vasquez, firefighter Franklyn Rios, firefighter Robert Ciabattari and EMT Vincent Hartmann delivered a baby girl at the headquarters located on Fulton Street.

The mother knocked on the firehouse door after walking in the snow at about 5:40 a.m. She had called a cab but it never showed up, according to Vasquez.

It was clear she didn't have time to go to the hospital so Hartmann moved her to an ambulance where Vasquez took over for the delivery.

Luckily this was not the first time Vasquez, who has been working at the department for nearly 19 years, has helped a woman give birth. In fact, this was his fourth time delivering a baby.

However, this time it was different. The first difference was that there was a snow storm hitting the area at the time. He says she was very lucky that Vasquez and his crew were at the fire house at the time, otherwise the situation might have turned out different.

"If were not there she would’ve had this baby outside in the snow and this would’ve been a matter of life or death," he said.

The second difference was how quickly the delivery process took. Vasquez says that within 5 minutes of entering the firehouse, the baby was being born.

Unfortunately, there were also other complications during the delivery. When the baby was being delivered, Vasquez noticed she was covered in a liquid called meconium, which could be deadly if it is breathed in.

So he had to clear the baby's nose and mouth once the baby's head was out. After the delivery, Vasquez and his team helped clean the baby and keep her warm.

The other complication was that the placenta came out ruptured, which is not normal and could potentially be dangerous.

However, after the delivery, both mother and baby appeared to look healthy. They were transported to Southside Hospital in Bay Shore. Vasquez says doctors told him they are both doing okay.

"[The mother] was very happy once we delivered a baby, she was joking and smiling," he said. The mother was also surprised after the birth since she said doctors told her the baby would be boy.