The brotherhood of firefighters just gained a baby sister when Emily Kristina Roche came into the world last week inside an idling ambulance on Rte. 9 in Westborough.
Proud parents Kim and Carl Roche, who also is a town firefighter, were on their way to Memorial Hospital when nature took its course and their first daughter arrived in the breakdown lane across from the Speedway Plaza at 9:23 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 4.
The 7-pound, 9-ounce valentine is the first child of a firefighter delivered in town by co-workers.
Group One firefighters Patrick Purcell and David Farrar did the honors after joking with Carl only hours earlier that they were available to deliver his baby that night.
"I guess we jinxed them," laughs Purcell, who was a full-time paramedic in Worcester before joining the Westborough Fire Department five years ago.
"This was the best ambulance call I have been on, that's for sure," he added.
Kim, whose labor with her first child, 16-month-old Charlie, also was quick, said she did not think she was having contractions Wednesday afternoon when her belly began to tighten.
"It didn't hurt and I thought if this was real labor, I would have back pain like I did with Charlie. So I did not really think about it," Kim recounted. "Besides, the due date was still two weeks away."
But as the early evening wore on, the contractions continued. Kim, who was alone with Charlie, decided to call Carl's sister, Crownridge Road resident Annbritt Hoover.
"I told her I did not think this was it, but something was going on and could she come over," said Kim.
And as the minutes ticked by and discomfort set in, she knew it wasn't false labor anymore and called her spouse, who was visiting a friend.
"I answered my cell phone and Kim said 'get home right away,'" recounts Carl, a 12-year veteran of theWestborough Fire Department. "When I got there, she was walking in circles and pacing and I realized we needed an ambulance."
Farrar and Purcell were surprised when they received the emergency call at the station, knowing it was no joke.
"We had to carry her out by stretcher and she looked like she was in obvious pain, but I thought we would make it to the hospital," said Farrar, who was driving the ambulance.
Apparently, baby Emily had different ideas.
"Pat is checking out Kim when I hear him say all in one breath, 'We'll, you're going to have this baby tonight, but your not going to have it in here ...wait...Dave pull over!'" remembers Farrar.
While Farrar stopped the ambulance and scrambled into the back, baby Emily got her first peek at the world and a couple of the heroes who will populate it.
Meanwhile, a nervous Carl, who wanted to help out, was instructed by his friends to just "hold Kim's hand."
"I did let him cut the cord," said Purcell, who has delivered six other babies.
"There were tears from more than just the baby," he added. "It was kind of nice to see Carl in father mode."
Back at the station one week later, baby Emily is oblivious to her "Group One uncles" who are oohing and ahhing over her as she sleeps in her father's arms.
"These guys were amazing," said a grateful Carl, who beams at his new little girl.
"I've delivered children before, but I've never seen them grow up so this will be fun," said Purcell, who has a 2-year-old daughter of his own.
With a certificate that cites Rte. 9 Westborough as their daughter's birthplace, Carl and Kim are looking forward to recounting the story to Emily when she's bigger.
"All I can say is thank God they were there," added Kim of Purcell and Farrar's quick response. "I mean, I know all the guys here on every shift, but it's different now. It's closer. We share a special bond."
