Bangor firefighters earn ‘stork’ for delivering girl

BANGOR – It seemed like a routine call for Bangor firefighters Phil Hilt and Joe Wellman when they responded to a call from Michelle Constantine, who was having labor contractions June 19. With more than 15 years EMT and paramedic experience between them, they figured they had plenty of time to make the five-minute ride to the hospital.

“I was in the back [of the ambulance] with the mom when all of a sudden she said she had to push,” said Hilt. “I asked her, ‘Do you mean push or push-push-push?’ to which she said, ‘Push-push-push.’ I barely had time to grab the OB-GYN kit before the baby began to come out.”

Before Wellman could pull over, Constantine had given birth to daughter Alexis, her third child.

Hilt suctioned the infant’s mouth and nose, gave her a tap and she began to cry. The baby’s father, Jason Ashlock, cut the umbilical cord.

It was the first time Hilt and Wellman had delivered a baby in an ambulance.

Hilt said. “This time it was a lot different [than in a hospital] as you don’t have a doctor and nurses standing by telling you what you need to do.”

The Bangor Fire Department’s Rescue 1 vehicle will sport a new ‘stork’ sticker. In Maine, whenever emergency personnel deliver a baby in an ambulance, the vehicle gets a blue stork for a boy, a pink stork sticker for a girl.