BCFR Dispatcher Logan Reedy Earns Stork Pin

By  //  December 31, 2013

'The luck of the draw'

Reedy, 25, has worked for Brevard County Fire Rescue for about six years, most of it on the overnight shift. And his first baby delivery happened fast, several factors playing into what was a 12-minute phone call. (BCFR image)
Reedy, 25, has worked for Brevard County Fire Rescue for about six years, most of it on the overnight shift. And his first baby delivery happened fast, several factors playing into what was a 12-minute phone call. (BCFR image)

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA — It’s “luck of the draw” when a Brevard County Fire Rescue dispatcher picks up the phone.

Calls for baby deliveries are rare, let alone ones when a dispatcher carries the process through before a rescue crew arrives.

Perhaps a sign of things to come, dispatcher Logan Reedy took a delivery related call in the early morning on Monday, Dec. 30, but it was after the baby had been born. Just a few hours later, shortly after 6 a.m., he earned his stork pin — a symbol given to a 9-1-1 dispatcher who handles the delivery of a baby over the phone.

Reedy, 25, has worked for Brevard County Fire Rescue for about six years, most of it on the overnight shift. And his first baby delivery happened fast, several factors playing into what was a 12-minute phone call.

The rescue squad stationed closest to the Sharpes home was out on a medical call, so the crew from Station 29, a little farther away in Canaveral Groves, was dispatched.

The man calling 9-1-1 said the mother’s water broke. Reedy didn’t even have time to get through all the questions and instructions in the protocol before the baby’s head was showing.

THE FAST PACED SITUATION

He called upon his training to be able to get the family through the fast-paced situation. They never even made it to counting contractions and the baby was born.

Perhaps a sign of things to come, dispatcher Logan Reedy took a delivery related call in the early morning on Monday, Dec. 30, 2013, but it was after the baby had been born. Just a few hours later, shortly after 6 a.m., he earned his stork pin — a symbol given to a 9-1-1 dispatcher who handles the delivery of a baby over the phone.

Reedy said the baby started breathing and crying immediately. He had to instruct the caller to wipe off the baby’s face and then find string — in this case, a shoelace — to tie off the umbilical cord.

The man on the phone was able to lay the baby on the mother’s body and then wrap her in clean towels.

The rescue crew arrived shortly after, and they cut the cord and cared for the family, taking them to Wuesthoff Medical Center in Rockledge.

AN EYE OPENING EXPERIENCE

When asked what it was like, Reedy said, “Eye-opening. It was really fast.”

“It’s a big deal in dispatch because we rarely get the timing just right to be on the phone when the baby comes,” Reedy said.

FIRELOGO-180
It’s “luck of the draw” when a Brevard County Fire Rescue dispatcher picks up the phone. Calls for baby deliveries are rare, let alone ones when a dispatcher carries the process through before a rescue crew arrives.(BCFR image)

The call normally ends when rescue personnel arrive, and that is most often before the actual delivery. But in this case, Reedy and the man on the phone partnered for the arrival of a healthy baby girl.

Some 9-1-1 dispatchers never get a delivery call. Supervisor Ryan Lugo, who has worked for BCFR for almost 16 years, has yet to receive one. He praised Reedy’s handling of the situation.

“He did a good job keeping the family calm, there was quite a bit of chaos going on, the mother screaming,” Lugo said. “He did a good job keeping them on task.”

The mom, who delivered at 37 weeks, had not yet picked out a name, according to the caller. Reedy said he had to ask.