Her third baby would not wait for the hospital, so two firefighters delivered him on the front lawn

Anna Kingrey went into labour with her third child and realised she was not going to make it to hospital. Her husband called 911. Police arrived first, then the fire department. Daniel Pronk and Dan Wilder delivered Cooper in the front yard. This week the family took him back to the station to say thank you.

28 September 2026

A red-haired baby with wide blue eyes sits on a woman's lap in a striped romper with a red fire engine embroidered on the front — Cooper Kingrey at three months, in a romper with a fire engine on it, at Greenville Fire Department Station 1.
Photo: City of Greenville

Two Greenville firefighters who delivered a baby boy in the front yard of a house this summer met him again this week, when his family brought him into the fire station to say thank you, the City of Greenville said.

Anna Kingrey was in labour with her third child and worked out that she was not going to reach the hospital, so her husband Bryan called 911. Greenville police officers arrived first, followed by the fire department’s quick response vehicle, which carries a certified emergency medical technician and a paramedic.

On the grass

The two who came on that vehicle were Fire Specialist Daniel Pronk and Firefighter Dan Wilder. The city said they supported Anna through the delivery, which happened where she was, on the grass in front of the house, with “calm professionalism, clear instructions and compassionate care”.

A firefighter in a grey Greenville City Fire Department T-shirt kneels in the dark holding a crying newborn wrapped in a white cloth, one blue-gloved hand supporting the baby — One of the crew with Cooper in the minutes after he was born.
Photo: City of Greenville

“We’re so thankful for these two,” Anna said afterwards. “They entered a scary situation, but their professionalism and calm attitudes made the whole family trust in their abilities.”

A night-time scene on a lawn: a police officer stands holding a torch, a firefighter kneels holding a newborn wrapped in white, and two more responders crouch beside the mother on sheets spread over the grass — The front yard that night, with a police officer holding a torch and the crew working on sheets laid over the grass.
Photo: City of Greenville

Back at Station 1

This week the Kingreys went to Station 1 with Cooper, who is now three months old, and his older brother and sister, so that Pronk and Wilder could meet the baby properly rather than in the dark with a job to do. The firefighters said the reunion meant a lot to them.

Greenville’s quick response vehicles exist for exactly this: a small crew that can get to an address fast, ahead of an ambulance, with someone on board who is trained to deal with whatever is happening when they arrive. Most shifts it is chest pain or a fall. That night it was a baby who would not wait.

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Written from the City of Greenville’s account of the delivery and the reunion, as reported by WYFF and FOX Carolina on 24 September 2026; the quotes are from those reports. The photographs are the City of Greenville’s.