One Georgia mom has an unusual and unforgettable birth story to share with her daughter once she’s old enough — the little girl was born in a fire station, with her firefighter Grandpa’s assistance.
Austell firefighter Bret Langston told 11 Alive News that he has delivered several babies, having been on the job for 28 years, but he never expected that one would be his own granddaughter.
Bret’s daughter, Hannah, was in labor and on her way to the birthing center when she and her mom April realized they might not make it in time. They decided to stop at the Austell Fire Station instead, where Bret was on duty. Ten minutes later, little Adalynn was born.
“It was unexpected, unusual, but it was a blessing and I wouldn’t change it. Everything went well,” said Hannah’s mother, April Langston.
“I joke with people, she was a surprise baby, she had a surprise birth, everything about her is just, surprise,” Hannah said.
Bret said that he has assisted in a half dozen deliveries, and he always thinks about the children afterward.
“So it’s not my first time delivering a baby,” he said, noting that it’s always been something he’s enjoyed. “You always wonder what happened to that child.”
But he won’t have to wonder what happened to Adalynn. “She’s beautiful, she’s perfect,” Bret said, holding her.
Hannah said the experience is something she’ll never forget. “I am stronger than I think,” she said. “I definitely feel a lot stronger now after giving birth at a fire station.”
Austell Fire Captain Mitch Parrott also spoke about the impact Adalynn’s birth had on the whole fire station. “That was totally unexpected,” he said of her birth. “I lost my daughter going on four years now. And this department has been behind me 110%, with helping me get through that,” he said. “So, to have a baby born in the fire station on my shift – I stood out in the hallway and cried a little bit. It was a big deal for me,” he said.
Little Adalynn has already been back to visit her grandfather at the fire station, something Hannah said she’ll continue doing.
“She will always have a seat at the table,” Bret said of Adalynn. “Usually, the rookie is the last to eat, but I think she’ll get to go to the front of the line.”
