Florida Woman Bears Down As Hurricane Irma Bears Down
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NORTH MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) – A Florida woman gave birth to her baby as Hurricane Irma swept through the state.
The woman went into heavy labor when winds were too treacherous for fire rescue ambulances to respond Sunday.
She first tried calling 911 and could not get through. She then called a nearby hospital directly.
The hospital called Station 31 in North Miami Beach for help and, after a fast discussion, it was determined the winds were too dangerous to dispatch an ambulance.
Instead, the commander at the station sent a fire ladder truck, a huge hook and ladder truck, to the woman's home.
When crews arrived, they found her in imminent labor with contractions very close apart so they took her to the hospital in the ladder truck and raced her to Jackson North Hospital.
She gave birth to her baby at the hospital but got a little help along the way.
Firefighter Shawn Campana comforted the woman during the run to the hospital, assuring her that everything would be okay and helping her to breath deeply and relax as much as she could in order to hold on until they reached the hospital.
The mother and baby were reportedly doing fine. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue have not said whether the baby is a boy or a girl.
