The Bedford Fire Department’s main ambulance, known as Medic-1, is now sporting a new emblem on its exterior – a cartoon stork, complete with messenger cap and a bundle in a diaper.
It’s not hard to deduce what just happened (and it’s not related to Audubon’s Christmas bird count).
Two Fire Department paramedics delivered a newborn at a house on The Great Road around 5:15 a.m. Tuesday. The mother and baby later were reported doing fine at Winchester Hospital.
According to the public safety dispatch log, the call for a “live birth” came in a little after 5. Lt. Brian Oates, Firefighter-Paramedics Carla Sahrbeck and Pat Stewart, and Firefighter Pete Spencer headed out, along with two police officers, Justin Brooks and Jared Weisenborn.
“The husband met them at the door,” Fire Department Capt. Mark Sullivan reported. “His wife was on the second floor, on the bathroom floor. Contractions were one minute apart.”
Four minutes later, the mom, with assistance from the paramedics, gave birth to a boy.
“It all happened really quickly,” recounted Sahrbeck. The mother had begun labor a few hours earlier, and the couple conferred with their midwife and prepared to drive to the hospital.
But as the contractions intensified, they opted to call 911. By the time the first responders were on the scene, the contractions were too frequent for safe transport. “For safety concerns you don’t want to deliver in the back of the ambulance,” Sahrbeck observed.
“This is my first delivery in the department,” said Sahrbeck, who has been in Bedford for almost three years. She stressed that paramedics don’t go into these situations unprepared; they are required to assist in three deliveries during paramedic training.
The ambulance drove the mother and son to Winchester Hospital, a popular maternity destination.
“It was an awesome experience. Everything went really well,” Sahrbeck reflected. “The mom was amazing.”
What about that little cartoon decal? “We put a stork on for each baby delivered, so this is the first associated with Medic-1,” the captain said.
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
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Great story! Congrats to the new parents.
Love reading happy news. Job well done! :-)