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Fort Knox family honors firefighters who delivered ‘eager’ baby

By Eric PilgrimAugust 5, 2024

Fort Knox family honors firefighters who delivered ‘eager’ baby
Lt. Seth Rockenfelder, Fort Knox Fire Department firefighter and EMT, holds little Grayson Crossland in his arms during a celebration at Fire Station #3 Aug. 3, 2024. Rockenfelder delivered Grayson on July 25 during an emergency call. (Photo Credit: Eric Pilgrim, Fort Knox News) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT KNOX, Ky. — July 25 was Lt. Seth Rockenfelder’s first day back from a fun, relaxing one-month vacation.

The Fort Knox Fire Station #3 firefighter and emergency medical technician said he was asked by Capt. David Pratt that morning to take charge of Engine 3 for a couple of hours while Pratt tended to other responsibilities.

“I wasn’t supposed to be on the truck that day,” said Rockenfelder.

At around 9:30 a.m., a call came in from dispatchers Maureen Sixbury and Eric Morgan: a pregnant woman’s husband in the Oak Park community was requesting emergency services for his wife.

Fort Knox family honors firefighters who delivered ‘eager’ baby
Little Grayson lies in Rockenfelder’s firefighter gear and swaddled in a blanket given by the firefighters who delivered him. (Photo Credit: Eric Pilgrim, Fort Knox News) VIEW ORIGINAL

The couple – Ty and Briana Crossland – were working on staying calm through the first phases of labor as they prepared to go to the hospital in Elizabethtown. Then at 9:26 a.m., Briana’s water broke.

“My contractions had been so inconsistent that I was like, ‘I don’t want to go to the hospital and get sent home,’” said Briana. “I just thought I was in early labor.”

Ty called Briana’s mom, Sara Terry, to give her the news. As Terry set off from her home in Indiana two hours away, Briana made the decision to use the restroom before they left for the hospital. Moments later, Briana realized she was unable to get back up. The eager baby wasn’t waiting for a trip to the hospital: “It was too late. He was coming.”

A military policeman with 4th Cavalry Multifunctional Training Brigade, Ty said Briana has a very high pain tolerance so when she yelled out to him that the baby was coming, he knew it was serious.

Fort Knox family honors firefighters who delivered ‘eager’ baby
Ty Crossland, a military policeman with 4th Cavalry Multifunctional Training Brigade, picks Grayson up from his carrier after Ty and Briana arrive at Fire Station #3 Aug. 3. (Photo Credit: Eric Pilgrim, Fort Knox News) VIEW ORIGINAL

“It was go time, but then she got really pale and woozy,” said Ty. “That’s when I called 9-1-1. My biggest problem then was trying to get her moved to the bed because she did not want to move at all.”

While the firefighters hustled to get changed and get to the scene, Rockenfelder said he wasn’t too concerned about the seriousness of the situation.

“I have three kids of my own. On calls like that, when the water breaks you still have plenty of time to get in an ambulance and get to the hospital – no big deal,” said Rockenfelder. “As we’re getting there and pulling up, the dispatcher was telling us that she was in the bathroom and unable to get to the door.

“I didn’t know the husband was there, so we thought we were going to have to break the door.”

Fort Knox family honors firefighters who delivered ‘eager’ baby
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Sara Terry helps her grandson Axel Crossland up into the firetruck that Rockenfelder rode over to Axel’s house July 25 to deliver his baby brother Grayson. 2 years old, Axel shares his birthday with Grayson. (Photo Credit: Eric Pilgrim, Fort Knox News) VIEW ORIGINAL
Fort Knox family honors firefighters who delivered ‘eager’ baby
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Rockenfelder presents Axel a stuffed fire dog toy that has been the mascot of Fire Engine 3 for years. (Photo Credit: Eric Pilgrim, Fort Knox News) VIEW ORIGINAL

The Crosslands’ bedroom is upstairs, so after Ty managed to help Briana back to the bed, he suddenly realized their front door was locked. He ran downstairs.

“As we’re coming up to the door, [Ty] opens it, and he says, ‘She’s upstairs and you can see the baby’s head,’” said Rockenfelder. “It went from a routine call to ‘Wow!’ really quick.”

The firefighters – Rockenfelder, Lt. John Choi and firefighters Kameron Harper and Logan Childs – gathered around Briana to help her deliver the baby. Rockenfelder took the lead.

At 9:44, less than five minutes later, Rockenfelder held all 8-plus pounds of the newest Crossland, named Grayson, in his hands before handing him over to Choi to be dried off.

When Choi handed Grayson back, Rockenfelder walked around the room with him wrapped in a towel and cradled in his hands. One of the firefighters jokingly suggested that maybe Briana might also want to hold her baby.

Ty said all the firefighters who arrived that day took over the stressful situation and handled everything flawlessly.

“They were super professional,” said Ty. “As soon as they got there, they took over and knew exactly what to do. They assessed the situation extremely quickly and knew what they needed.”

Rockenfelder said he was confident in his ability to deliver Grayson.

“When my daughter was born in Harrison County, Indiana, the doctor knew what I did for a living, and she let me be very interactive with the birth of my daughter,” said Rockenfelder. “That really helped me; the calm just took over like I was standing there when my daughter was born.”

While Terry made her way toward Briana, Ty and their 2-year-old son Axel, she got the news from Ty of Grayson’s sudden birth in the bedroom. Terry rerouted toward the hospital and met them there around the same time.

“When we were in Texas, she couldn’t be there for my first, so I told her, ‘If it works out good you can be in the delivery room,’” Briana said. “So, this time I told her, ‘I’m sorry that you didn’t get to be in the delivery room, but we’re all here and okay.”

Terry said she was taking it all in stride.

“I got to be there for part of it, just not the actual baby birth part of it,” said Terry. “That’s okay. They were healthy and everybody’s good, and I’m happy. I’m a blessed Mimi.”

After the firefighters and Ty got Briana downstairs, the ambulance arrived and EMTs let Ty cut the umbilical cord.

Fort Knox family honors firefighters who delivered ‘eager’ baby
Members of the EMT team who delivered baby Grayson on July 25 stand in front of their engine along with Ty and Briana Crossland and dispatcher Maureen Sixbury (at right). (Photo Credit: Eric Pilgrim, Fort Knox News) VIEW ORIGINAL

All the firefighters of Station #3 and Maureen Sixbury got the opportunity Aug. 3 to meet Grayson when the family, to include the Terrys, had pizza delivered to them as a thank you. Terry jokingly told the firefighters that her husband, Jim, had suggested she leave the night before.

She also told them that Grayson’s birth landed on the same day as his older brother Axel. Choi shared with the family that in the excitement of the moment he had forgotten a little fact about himself: a fact that didn’t surface until later that day.

“We were having dinner and one of the firefighters brought in a cake for me,” said Choi. “Everybody was like, ‘Whose birthday is it?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, it’s my birthday.’ I had forgotten about it.”

Briana praised the efforts of the firefighters.

“I was freaking out about it all, worried about Grayson being okay,” said Briana. “They reassured me and helped keep me calm. Under the circumstances it was nice. They saved my baby.”