Concord Firefighters Deliver Baby Boy
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Some Staten Island firefighters jumped into action early Monday morning, helping to deliver a baby boy at their fire house. NY1's Joe Malvasio filed the following report. At Concord's Engine 160, Rescue 5, firefighters are used to heading out on emergency calls, but they're not used to emergencies coming to them.
Early Monday morning, at around 4:30 a.m., that is exactly what happened.
"We received a knock on the door, an unexpected knock on the door," recalled FDNY Lieutenant Brian Cordasco. "A mother was in labor. Our guys jumped into action."
In just minutes, firefighters Tom Soto, John Nigro and Joe Steiner say they put to use their extensive training, with Soto delivering the healthy baby boy.
It was his first-ever baby delivery.
"After the baby was born the baby started to cry immediately," said Soto. "Then we placed the baby on its mother's chest."
Amber King says once she had gone into labor, she, her mother, her daughter, and the baby's father, were trying to get to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan from the Graniteville section of Staten Island. But, it was not long before she realized that she was not even going to make it to the nearest hospital on Staten Island, let alone the Manhattan hospital.
"We were on the highway and I just felt the urge to push. And then I just pushed and the head was there, and I said, 'Mom, pull over and deliver this baby,'" King said.
But, instead, her mother jumped off the expressway and enlisted the help of the FDNY.
"I knew that they would be there for us," said Zina Jones-King.
The family says they very thankful the firehouse was open on the overnight and they say they cannot thank New York's Bravest enough.
"I want to tell them thank you for helping me, for being prompt," said the baby's mother. "You know, thanks for just being there and available. And calm. They were calm, they weren't worried, so they didn't make me feel worried and I appreciate what they did."
The firefighters shrugged it off, saying it was just "part of the job."