Firefighters finally meet baby girl they delivered 22 years ago — she sweetly expressed her gratitude

Janea Watson was delivered as a baby by a group of Winston-Salem firefighters 22 years ago. On January 21, they reunited for the first time ever and it was truly a heartwarming moment.

The Winston-Salem Fire Department shared the pictures of their sweet reunion on Twitter. They confessed moments like this are why firefighters do their job. Along with the touching pictures, they wrote, "Early one morning 22 years ago E3 (Captains Helper & Holmes & FF Brock) responded to a medical call where they delivered a beautiful baby. Today Jenae Watson [sic] was reunited w/ that crew! #OurWhy #NotJustaJob."

According to WGHP, it all began on November 10 that year at 6:27 in the morning. Ron Hepler, former fire captain of Station 3, and his crew responded to their 12th call on their shift at a home on Greenway Avenue. “Nothing got in our way. We got out, went in, the grandma said ‘we didn’t call any firefighters.’ I said ‘when the ambulance gets here, we’ll back out the way',” Hepler said. Janea's mother couldn't wait any longer and she knew her baby was on the way. “Hepler said, “About that time, the mom said ‘the baby was coming.’ I dove from me to you and caught the baby,” Hepler said.

It was a tricky birth, Jennie Watson, Janea’s grandmother claimed. “They said the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck. They had to move in fast…they did a terrific job. Once she cried, that was it. They knew everything was safe,” she said. The team of firefighters quite possibly saved the baby's life.

Six months after she was born Janea’s grandmother called the firefighters to meet the baby but Janea quite obviously has no recollection of it. So her grandmother decided to set up another reunion at Fire Station 3 in Winston-Salem two whole decades later. “I was determined to find him. I found all three of them,” said Jennie. During the reunion, they shared photos of Janea when she was just born. “I’ve never seen a baby picture of me,” Janea said.

Speaking of their meeting Hepler said, “She was shy, but she warmed up to us. I was so happy to see she made it through life to be the person she is now,” Hepler said. The crew even told her they are proud of the woman she grew up to be. The young woman responded with love saying, “I want to say thank you, and I’m grateful for them,” she said. She plans on keeping in touch with her heroes for years and years to come.