Rookie firefighter reunites with mom after helping deliver baby during first day on job
YONKERS, New York (WABC) -- The mother of a newborn and the rookie firefighter who helped deliver the baby reunited for the first time on Wednesday.
Yonkers Fire Department firefighter Michael Iacovello helped Agnes Osei Bonsu deliver her fourth baby girl last week - during his first call on his first day on the job.
The first responders say there simply wasn't enough time to get the mother to a hospital when she went into labor on Jan. 15.
"We said push, push, breathe, push, and the baby came out and was not crying, which is kind of scary, and then we suctioned the baby and she finally started crying," Iacovello said.
Bonsu said the rookie firefighter encouraged her, told her to push and did a great job.
"We asked if father was around, and he was on vacation, and was not here, so I got to cut the umbilical cord as well," Iacovello said.
The baby's father was in Africa and rushed back when he heard the baby came early.
"When I heard the firefighters delivered her, I was so happy and so proud, I was about 5,000 miles away and didn't know what to do then, when I heard the good news I was so proud and thanked everybody involved," Kofi Osei Bonsu said.
Everyone had so much gratitude that all went well and Iacovello says this kind of craziness on the first day is exactly why he's always wanted to be a firefighter.
"Always, always, ever since I can remember, since I was maybe 5 years old," he said. "The fire house that I'm out now, I grew up in neighborhood, so I used to pass by it all the time with my bike and my friends and ask for air for my tire - and now I am a part of it."
Mom and baby are both doing well.
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