The firefighter who was photographed carrying a baby away from the Oklahoma City federal building bombing has hung up his helmet for the last time.
Chris Fields was working at Station 5 when a bomb ripped through the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building on April 19, 1995.
"I felt it. We were standing in the station around the kitchen," Fields told Fox6NewsNow.com. "We heard the boom and felt the station rattle. We looked outside and saw the plume of smoke and self dispatched ourselves,"
A police officer gave critically injured Baylee Almon, 1, to Fields and he carried her from the rubble when the famous photograph was taken.
"I'm thinking, wow, somebody's world is about to turn upside down today," said Fields. "It's still tough to talk about. It's always worse when it involves a child. When you have kids, it affects you a little more."
The photo was published all around the world, and it made life tough for Fields.
"I struggled with it for a long time. I didn't like being singled out. There were a lot of heroes that day," he said.
Fields credits years of counseling and faith to help him overcome the PTSD he suffered from his response to the bombing.
He became friends with Baylee's mother, Aren Almon Kok.
"We came out of it with a good friendship and our families are close. I think if everyone would have had a Chris Fields then they would have made it through the bombing a lot easier, like I did," Almon Kok said.
After a 31-year career, Fields retired from the department as a captain.
"That's my plan to embrace life, treasure every minute. It's all roses from here."
