Seattle firefighters safely deliver baby on side of road

SEATTLE — It's something you don't see every day: a baby born on the side of the road.

Four firefighters got a 911 call on the night of Feb. 11 about a pregnant woman needing help near the intersection of Swift and Eddy in South Seattle.

"When we arrived we could see the mom was in obvious distress and the dad said the baby was coming," said firefighter Cesar Gatbunton.

Gatbunton and his fellow firefighters from Seattle Fire Station 27 said they helped get the woman to the back hatch of her SUV.

Firefighter Derwin Plenasi said they knew a baby could come any minute.

"You go from ... OK, there's somebody in the middle of the road needing a bit of help, to holy moly, we have to get this ball rolling," he said.

Gatbunton was the first one to get hold of the baby as he was emerging.

He said it was his first delivery in the field in his 17-year firefighting career.

“It just happened so quickly,” said Gatbunton. “It really was an amazing experience.”

Planesi said firefighters train for this kind of emergency every year, but when it happens, it’s something special for the entire fire station.

“We don’t always get to see the great side of everything and this experience was just rejuvenating for all of us," he said.

KIRO 7 checked, and both mother and baby boy are doing well.

Cox Media Group