Local 1067 Member Delivers His Own Baby on Route to Hospital

May 19 • 2016

On May 7, 2016 — at approximately 3:20 am — Riverside City, CA Local 1067 fire fighter Jeremy Roberts returned from a call and immediately received another call. This time from his wife, Kirsten — she was in labor.

Roberts gathered his things and hurried home to take his wife to the hospital. “Our first child came pretty quickly, so we were moving as fast as we could,” says Roberts.

It was a common joke between the couple that, after having been a medic for 10 years, his own child would be Roberts’ first delivery.

About two exits from the hospital, Kirsten’s water broke. Roberts continued driving until he heard his wife calmly say, “I can feel her head.”

At that same time, Roberts saw an ambulance leaving the hospital at a red light. “I pulled my truck right up and blocked it off. I am sure they thought I was crazy,” says Roberts. “I ran out and told them, ‘OK, I need your OB kit and your gurney, she’s having a baby,’ — they were surprised, but got moving and helped me through the whole thing.”

Roberts told his wife, on the next contraction, to push. Two pushes later, a baby girl was born. He wrapped her in his flannel jacket and handed her to his wife, who exited the truck holding the baby to get into the ambulance. “She’s a really strong woman,” he says. “She’s basically a champion.”

“It couldn’t have happened to a better guy,” says Local 1067 President Timothy Strack. “Roberts is really involved and is actually one of the members of the honor guard at the IAFFmemorial. We are really happy for him.”

The family is enjoying some well-earned time together with the new baby, Adeline, and her big brother, Hudson. “I kept thinking to myself while it was happening — I can’t believe this is happening!” says Roberts. “We are really thankful it all turned out the way it did.”