The baby was delivered in the back of a fire engine battling the blaze at the Falmouth construction site

Firefighters tackling a fire at a construction site in Cornwall helped deliver a baby in a nearby car. Crews were called into action after Falmouth couple Alice Hearle and Josh Beardmore realized they wouldn’t make it to hospital in time.

Alice was booked in for an induction the day after her waters broke, but she started having contractions in her car. They tried to head to the hospital – but baby Olive had other plans.

Realizing they wouldn’t make it to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro in time, Josh – who is used to dealing with emergencies from his long service as an RNLI volunteer on lifeboats – quickly thought of a plan B.

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He said: “I was in the car and had just come down the road when Alice said ‘I’ve got to push, the baby is coming’. I knew about the fire at Cockwells because the road had been closed and I had seen all the news.

“We’re keeping an eye on that in case we have to go another route to the hospital. I knew the fire department would more than likely be there. When the ambulance service told me to stop, I thought “I know exactly. where can I go’.

“I waved at the guys and said ‘I think I need a hand here, my missus is having a baby.’

Falmouth Blue Watch and Fire Investigation teams, who were dealing with the final stages of the blaze, swung into action. The crew moved a fire truck in front of the car to block the view from the road.

Firefighter Katie Hoskins handled the delivery, and her colleague, Rosie Tonkin, stayed on the phone with the ambulance service. Baby Olive was born safe and sound at 2.36pm on Thursday 16th May.

Alice, a mobile hairdresser, said: “If they were nervous, it didn’t show at all. They were so comforting and took control of the situation.

“I didn’t have time to worry. I was just in the zone, I wasn’t really thinking. After about three pushes, the baby came out and cried right away, so I knew it was good.”

Olive is the couple’s second child, meaning they were relieved that Alice’s water broke just days before her due date. She was checked out at the hospital and went home to rest after being booked in for induction.

She recalled: “Everything was fine so we came home to get some rest. They booked us in for an introduction at 4pm the next day.

“In the morning, nothing much happened. I just had a light, very sporadic contraction.”

Josh added: “We relaxed, walked on the beach and had a grilled cheese. Around 1 p.m., Alice called the midwives. Everything was fine, so they said to stick to the plan.”

But just minutes later, Alice’s labor progressed rapidly. She said: “Five minutes after I spoke to her I had this secondary water break. I was having contractions every minute.

“We couldn’t walk, we couldn’t talk. In hindsight, we should have stayed home because we wouldn’t have gotten anywhere.”

Baby Olive has now been reunited with the firefighters who delivered her after Josh and Alice took her and two-year-old brother Teddy to thank crews.

Alice said: “It was nice to come back and thank you and talk about it. I wanted to thank them for being so calm and jumping the way they did.

“One of the boys even noted the exact time he was born. Little things like that mean a lot. It wasn’t the water birth I had planned, but I actually feel very proud and positive about the birth.”

Kathryn Billing, Chief Fire Officer at Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Every day our crews go above and beyond to serve the people of Cornwall. I am so pleased that Olive arrived safely and extremely proud of the crews that helped deliver her. It’s a testament to their service and their profession.”

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