FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue firefighter helped his wife give birth to their daughter from the back seat of the family’s minivan at a Fort Lauderdale gas station.
Baby Josephine — known as Baby Jo — was born on Sept. 30 in the back seat of a Chrysler Pacifica minivan at a Chevron gas station.
“It happened so fast,” Carissa, the baby’s mother, said. “That’s what I can’t express — how fast. Oh, yeah, this is happening.”
“This is the cream of the crop,” Matt, the baby’s father, said.
Carissa said Baby Jo is the couple’s third child. She was five days late when Carissa’s water broke during a massage, and the couple believed they had the 25 minutes to get from Oakland Park to Coral Springs.
However, Baby Jo had other plans, and by the time the couple reached the gas station, the baby was ready.
In the 911 call, Matt could be heard talking to the 911 operator while trying to get his wife ready to give birth in the back of their minivan.
“911, what’s the address of the emergency?” a 911 operator asked.
“Hi, how ya doing? My name is uh … actually at 31st and Cypress Creek near a gas station,” Matt said. “I believe my wife is going to be delivering our child in the next moment, if you could please get the paramedics.”
“All right,” the 911 operator responded.
“Yup, the baby is coming,” Matt said. “Baby, I need you to scoot back. I need you to scoot back please. OK, whenever you feel like it, OK? You need to try and relax OK? You’re doing fine, baby. You’re doing fine.”
Matt, a BSFR firefighter, delivered the baby with help from Fort Lauderdale Fire Station 53 Capt. Robert Hamilton, who responded to the call.
“It was just very reassuring for me to have his voice so soothing,” Carissa said.
“It’s completely different when it’s your own, for sure,” Matt said.
The two firefighters from different departments and their families now share an incredible bond thanks to Baby Jo.
“I just happened to be the one fortunate enough to be there with my crew who supported me,” Hamilton said.
Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Stephen Gollan said the child’s birth is a perfect example of how South Florida first responders can work together during a crisis.
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