EA Alumnus Featured in The Washington Post

Originally published in The Washington Post as shared by the Knoxville Fire Department

Lateshia Hall suddenly felt like she was in labor, and she knew she wasn’t going to make it to the hospital in time for the birth of her seventh child. “It was obvious this baby wasn’t waiting for anyone — he was on his way,” said Hall, who took some deep breaths and asked her mother to call 911. When a firetruck arrived at her house in Knoxville, Tenn., about 7 p.m., three first responders rushed into her bedroom, she said, and helped deliver her son, O’Tavais “OT” Harris, less than a minute later.

It was New Year’s Day 2005. “His head suddenly appeared, and at 7:01 p.m., he was here and crying,” recalled Hall, 49, now a mother of 13 children. “The firefighters cut OT’s umbilical cord, cleaned him up and handed him to me, then off they went,” she said, adding that she and her son were then taken by an ambulance to a hospital. “I really appreciated how those firefighters helped me,” said Hall, who was a single mother at the time and is now married. “But I didn’t expect I’d ever see them again.”

Then in mid-June, Hall received a FaceTime call from OT, now 18. “Mom, do you know this guy? Does he look familiar to you?” she recalled OT saying before handing his phone to a man wearing a Knoxville Fire Department T-shirt. The man’s name was Kevin Faddis, and he was an assistant chief of the Knoxville Fire Department. Faddis told her he helped deliver a baby at her house 18 years ago. “He and OT were smiling and laughing,” Hall said. “And I couldn’t believe what a small world it was.” She squinted into the screen of her phone.

“This man had delivered my baby, and now OT was standing next to him?” she said. “Incredible!” OT Harris had recently graduated from L & N Stem Academy high school, and was accepted into Knoxville’s Summer in the City program — a paid, eight-week internship that allows participants between ages 16 and 22 to get a close-up look at various city departments. OT Harris was assigned to the fire department. “He doesn’t even want to be a firefighter, so it was one in a million,” said Hall, an administrative assistant and human resources specialist.

Harris said he was spending a day watching firefighters train when Faddis, one of the battalion chiefs, asked him about his background. “He asked me how many siblings I had, and I told him I had a lot — more than a lot,” Harris said. “Then he asked what part of town I lived in, and I told him some of the streets I’d lived on.” When Harris mentioned he’d spent his early years on Hazen street, Faddis broke into a smile. “He said, ‘I delivered a baby there!’” Harris said. That was when the men put the pieces of the story together. “My mom told me when I was little that I’d been delivered by the fire department. So I knew he was talking about me,” Harris said.

Faddis said he was stunned by the realization that he had helped bring one of the fire department’s summer interns into the world. “I’d held him in my arms and heard his first cry,” said Faddis, 50. “It was the first time I’d ever helped deliver a baby, and I’ve only delivered one other since. When you get a call like that, you don’t forget.”

When Harris called his mother on FaceTime, the assistant chief said he asked her, “Was OT number nine?” Hall told him that OT was her lucky No. 7. “It’s been 18 years, but I remember that call because she said she’d given birth at home before, and she was calm as a cucumber, telling us, ‘There’s no time for the hospital — this baby is on his way out,’” Faddis recalled. He said he was one of three first responders who showed up that wintry night. One of the others, Mark Wilbanks, an assistant chief and paramedic in Knoxville, remembered he was surprised at how quick the delivery was. “It’s the first time I’ve walked in and seen a spontaneous birth,” said Wilbanks, 52, noting that he has helped deliver six babies in his career. “The whole thing took probably 30 seconds.” Wilbanks said that he gently took hold of OT when he was born and that he and Faddis clamped off OT’s umbilical cord. “We made sure he and the mom were okay, then an ambulance came to get them,” he said. “It’s a happy feeling when you can be a part of something like that. We were all able to hold OT. But, of course, he’s too big to hold now.”

Wilbanks said he was stunned when Faddis called and told him their summer intern’s backstory. “I’m assigned to be his mentor, and we’ve had a few conversations back and forth, but I never imagined anything like this,” Wilbanks said. “He’s so charismatic, and I’m thrilled that he’s with us. OT is a very driven kid.”

Harris said he applied for the city internship because he hoped to add more experience to his résumé before he heads to East Tennessee State University this summer to major in English. “My goal is to eventually become a school superintendent and focus on urban education,” he said. “I’ve never had a real internship before, so this seemed like something cool to do.” He said he is enjoying learning about water pressure and how to turn fire hydrants on and off, and is looking forward to tagging along on a few calls soon. “Riding on the truck will be fun,” he said. “I honestly can’t see myself doing what these guys do for 24 hours a day, so I’ve earned new respect for what they do. They work really hard to help people.”

In fact, firefighters helped his family another time about four years ago when their laundry room caught fire. “The fire department was able to put the fire out, and we all got out safely, but it destroyed the entire backside of our house,” Hall said. “We lost a lot of personal items, including most of our photos.” Hall said she prefers to remember the night when three men in uniform swaddled her tiny son in a baby blanket and handed him to her. “They’re heroes,” she said. “I’m really glad we’ve been able to reconnect.” Faddis said he and Wilbanks feel honored that they now get to spend some quality time with Harris.

“With jobs like ours, you don’t get a lot of time to relish the moment,” Faddis said. “You’re always off to the next call.” “It’s a real treat for us to get to know the young man we helped bring into the world 18 years ago,” he said.