It's A Girl! Andover Firefighters Help Deliver Baby In Ambulance

ANDOVER, MA — Andover firefighters called to transport a pregnant woman to the hospital Monday ended up cutting the trip short. That's because Firefighter/EMT Kevin Carney and Firefighter/EMT Richard Krafton ended up helping the woman deliver the baby on the back of their ambulance, about a half mile away from Lawrence General Hospital.

"All of our personnel are highly trained to deal with these types of situations," Fire Chief Michael Mansfield said in a statement. "This little girl just could not wait to say hello to the world, and I am very proud of our firefighters for their actions."

The woman, who was pregnant with her second child, had a Sept. 5 due date. But when she went into labor and contractions started coming faster than expected, she called 911 around 7:39 p.m. Monday. Firefighter/EMT Kevin Carney and Firefighter/EMT Richard Krafton arrived to find the contractions were coming fast than when the initial call was placed.

It was the first field delivery for Krafton in his nine-year career. For Carney, however, it was nothing new: he's been part of two other field deliveries in his 13 years with Andover Fire Services.