A Tennessee firefighter who responded to a car accident on Saturday involving a pregnant woman and her three children went above and beyond his call of duty to comfort a four-month-old girl at the scene.
The pregnant mother had been driving her vehicle with her three young girls in the backseat when she crashed on Highway 58, the Daily Mail reported.
When Captain Chris Blazek of the Chattanooga Fire Department responded to the crash, he noticed the mother and her four-month-old baby crying “hysterically.”
“The mother was hysterical because she was having abdominal and back pain,” Blazek said, according to the Chattanooga Fire Department’s Facebook post. “The children ranged in age from 7 years to 4 months. Both big girls were fine, but the baby was screaming hysterically too.”
Once Blazek saw the screaming infant, he decided to show the softer side of his job by cradling the young girl in his arms. The girl, who was once inconsolable, appeared to find peace and slept soundly in his arms.
“She immediately laid her head on my shoulder. Shortly after that I decided that my guys had the scene under control, so I decided to sit and take a break with my new friend. She immediately fell asleep in my arms,” Blazek recalled.
The mother was taken to the hospital to receive a medical evaluation and other members of Blazek’s crew stayed with the children until the girls’ other family members could arrive at the scene.
“Mom was transported and Engine 6 personnel stayed on scene with the children until they were turned over to family members,” he continued. “It’s moments like this, that I am reminded, this is why I do the job.”
Kyle Vrandenberg, Blazek’s fellow firefighter at Engine 6, took the photo of Blazek comforting the girl. The Chattanooga Fire Department posted the photo on Facebook is now going viral on social media. As of Tuesday afternoon, the post had been shared more than 5,100 times and gained more than 14,000 reactions.