Benicia Firefighter/Paramedic Wayne Fraser Helps Deliver Baby

BENICIA, Calif. -- It was about 1 a.m. on a Monday, when the firefighters at Benicia Station 12 were dispatched to a report of a "female in active labor."

Firefighter/Paramedic Wayne Fraser suited up, and jumped into the engine with two other firefighters to respond to the call.

Little did he know that he would be responsible for a new life in about 25 minutes.

"A lot of times we get these calls, and the mother is in early stages of labor," the 40-year-old firefighter said. "We would get there, turn them over to the hospital, and there you go."

However, this wasn't the case on that fateful early May 7 morning.

Fraser said they arrived at the home to find that the woman's water had broken and she was in full labor.

"She was contracting every minute," Fraser said.

The 36-year-old woman was pregnant with her second child. However, she said she was not expecting the labor to be that fast. Her first was a 25-hour ordeal.

The firefighters quickly transported her into the ambulance, and Fraser hopped in to assist the Medic Ambulance paramedic.

The ambulance was on its way to the hospital when the soon-to-be mother started to feel the urge to push, Fraser said.

"I checked on her, and she had started to crown," he said. "Things were progressing really quickly. I didn't think it was going to happen that fast."

They finally reached the hospital at about 1:25 a.m., Fraser said.

He swung open the ambulance door, stepped down, got ready to

pull the gurney out of the ambulance, but had to stop because the baby was coming.

"I was nervous," Fraser said of the experience. "But you don't want to show that."

He then started going through the procedures for a newborn baby, including cleaning her airways and clamping on the umbilical cord.

As a father of three daughters, Fraser was amused, he said.

"I can't even deliver a boy!" Fraser said. "I told her, if anyone would deliver a baby, it should be me. I have six children."

In fact, aside from his three daughters, Fraser has two stepchildren, and takes care of a stepniece who lives with the family.

The baby girl and mother are doing well.

"It was all very surreal," the Benicia woman said two weeks later. "I'm, of course, so appreciative that we have the service that was available to us. They were able to step in at the moment when I needed them."

Fraser said unlike popular beliefs, firefighters or police officers don't deliver babies often.

"You would think it's more common, but it's not," Fraser said. "There are people who go through their entire career and have never done it.

"It all went well, but hopefully it's my last one," Fraser said. "You go from having one patient, to having two. And a baby is so delicate."

Fraser has been a paramedic for 13 years, 11 of which have been with the Benicia Fire Department.

"There are calls that require you to do more stuff," he said. "But this one was all (the mother)."

Working with hazardous materials before making his career move, Fraser said he enjoys providing paramedic services.

"I like the feeling that somebody is in distress, and they are calling us for help," he said. "I like the closeness in the department. I look forward to coming to work."

Contact staff writer Irma Widjojo at (707)553-6835 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @IrmaVTH.

Wayne Fraser

Age: 40

Home: Rio Vista

Occupation: Benicia firefighter/paramedic

Family: Wife, two stepchildren, three daughters, a stepniece.

Quote: "There are calls that require you to do more stuff. But this one was all (the mother)."

McClatchy-Tribune News Service