By Sarah Bardon
The Mirror
DUBLIN — A baby was delivered safely yesterday after a firefighter gave advice over the phone to a frantic couple.
The little girl came into the world so quickly there was no time for an ambulance to take mum to hospital.
Instead, Dublin fire crew member Brian Devlin stayed on the line throughout the birth and talked them through it step-by-step.
Brian said: “I was in the control room when we got the 999 phone call at 2am from this man who said his wife was in labour.
“I went through the normal procedures and asked him if he could see the baby’s head.
“He said he couldn’t so I dispatched an ambulance but it was too late. I told him if anything changed to give me a call back.
“We got another call from the man three or four minutes later saying the baby was coming. He said he could see the baby’s head. The man was a little panicked at the start but it soon faded. I told him he could do it and any nerves he seemed to have faded.
“I talked him through the birth and the certain things he needed to do to make sure the baby was delivered safe.
“I asked him to make sure he kept the baby warm and to do the routine checks to make sure the baby was breathing OK.”
Both mother and baby were later taken to Mount Carmel Hospital for medical checks and both were found to be perfectly healthy.
It was Brian’s first delivery over the phone in more than four years of service.
However, he has delivered three babies in person. He said: “I don’t understand where all the fuss came from. This happens all the time but I am absolutely delighted that mammy and baby are OK.
“In my opinion, the daddy had the hard part. But he was pretty great, he kept such a cool head.”
Copyright 2009 MGN Ltd.
All Rights Reserved