Maine Teacher Gives Birth in School Parking Lot as Her Firefighter Father Arrives at Scene: 'A True Miracle'

Mar. 15, 2025

Tori Hildreth and her family.Photo:Tori Hildreth

Tori Hildreth

Per Old Town High School, Hildreth “started experiencing contractions” during the school day — which prompted school nurse Jana Caron and school resource officer Willy King to respond to the scene. Eventually, Hildreth’s firefighter father responded too.

“As Tori was being moved into her mother’s car for transport home, Bella made the decision to leap into Nurse Jana’s waiting arms,” the school wrote of the newborn’s arrival. “EMS had been called earlier and upon arrival, Tori’s father, Mike Hildreth was driving the firetruck. The whole scene was an imperfectly perfect moment.”

“The plan was to go to the hospital, but I stopped in the car and I said, ‘Hold on, I just need to make it through this one contraction before I can actually sit down,” Hildreth added. “And that contraction was the one that pushed her out into the world.”

“Her composure, toughness, and focus are remarkable. She’s one tough lady,” the school nurse told WABI, adding that students were “popping their heads in my office” after the fact. “Whenever she gets stabilized, she walked over to the stretcher and she lays herself down and she’s like, ‘See you in three months!’ " she continued.

As for Hildreth’s father, Captain Mike Hildreth, who arrived on the scene in an Old Town Fire Department firetruck, he “showed up and started crying,” his daughter told WABI.

“My mom and I were both in shock,” she said. “He’s the first one to respond to a maternity call that it was his daughter and that is probably true. That’s some small-town stuff right there, I would say.”

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Old Town High School’s Facebook announcement said that Bella’s birth apparently marked the first in the school’s history. Per WABI, Bella was born two weeks early, weighing six pounds and 4 ounces and measuring 19 inches long.

“I am thankful that my daughters are growing up in a community where people give that love and support,” Hildreth said.

source: people.com