On Wednesday, D.C. firefighters got to meet the baby they helped deliver in the shadow of the Washington Monument on January 18.
Akela Crawford and the baby’s father Ron Payton were headed to the hospital, when finally she told her doctor on the phone, “I don’t think we’re gonna make it.”
The couple pulled over, and as they spoke on the phone, a firefighter visiting from Round Rock, Texas, heard the commotion and ran over to help.
Payton, remembered when the good Samaritan approached. “He was like, ‘Hey, we heard you screaming, can we help?'”
“I was at the point where I wanted him to just do it,” Payton recalled.
When D.C. firefighters arrived on the scene they helped make sure baby Zion was okay. It was an unforgettable experience for Juan Melton, a firefighter and EMT of five years, as it was the first birth he had helped with.
“It was beautiful… It was a new experience but with the training I was well-prepared,” Melton said.
Baby Zion and his parents took a trip to Engine 13 in Southwest Washington so Melton and others on the crew could meet the baby for the first time since he was delivered.
The firefighter from Texas got to be a part of the special moment too, he Skyped in; and will be receiving a Certificate of Commendation from D.C’s fire chief in the mail.
