- May 28, 2026
-
-
Loading
Loading
She was planning for an all-natural birth.
But it isn't likely Myakka City's Allee Noordzy had written James Bacigalupi and Trevor Garofalo into that plan.
Bacigalupi and Garofalo are firefighters with East Manatee Fire Rescue who were on duty at Station 12 when Allee and her husband, Cody, along with their daughters Audree (12) and Avaree (8), came pounding on the door on March 30, five years ago.
Station 12 is only about a mile away from the Noordzy's home. Allee Noordzy already was about 10 days overdue, and when the future Harry Noordzy decided to enter into the world, he decided to do so in rapid-fire manner.
Allee Noordzy told her husband that she wanted to make it to a hospital, but he knew that was just too far away.
"It was either having the baby (at Station 12), or in the laundry room," Cody Noordzy said. "It's definitely nice having this location so close."
They called East Manatee Fire Rescue and let them know they were on the way. The Noordzys were pounding on the Station 12 door at 3 a.m., and found that Bacigalupi and Garofalo were slightly disheveled as they were awakened.
"They were wearing flip-flops," Allee Noordzy said.
The two firefighters thought they were barefoot as they answered the door, but it was five years ago, so it was hard to remember. What followed wasn't hard to remember.
All parties who were present that night five years ago gathered on May 20 at Station 12 for a belated birthday for Harry, who is now a 5-year-old "spitfire" according to his mom.
Bacigalupi is a paramedic while Garofalo is an EMT (emergency medical technician). Although Bacigalupi is more trained to handle medical emergencies, Garofalo noted that both have been trained to handle births. However, he said on this particular night, he was just handing things to Bacigalupi.
It was the fourth time Bacigalupi had delivered a baby and the first for Garofalo.
Although Station 12 certainly isn't set up for a delivery, they worked quickly. They rolled out an office chair on wheels and put Allee Noordzy into it, taking her inside.
"I told Trevor to 'make a nest,' Bacigalupi said, adding that it basically involves using blankets to provide a clean environment for the birth.
Allee Noordzy said the firefighters were calm and that put her at ease. They followed their training by the book.
"There are 100 different concerns," Bacigalupi said. "You need a clean environment, and it could a breach (which means the baby comes out feet or bottom first).
"Backward is never good."
Harry came out just fine in terms of direction, but the umbilical cord was wrapped around Harry's body.
"We spun him like a pizza and he started crying right away," Bacigalupi said about getting the cord straightened out. "The dad cut the cord."
They started an IV on Allee Noordzy, and an ambulance had her on the way to the hospital 10 minutes after they arrived at Station 12.
Bacigalupi said it was the calmest of his four deliveries because Allee Noordzy remained so composed through it all.
About a month after the delivery, the Noordzys showed up at Station 12 to offer the firefighers — what else — a pizza.
"It was just another day serving the public," Garofalo said of the birth. "Only this was the opposite. This was seeing life brought into the world."
Bacigalupi and Garofalo bought Legos as a belated 5-year-old birthday present for Harry, who was treated to a tour of Station 12 and the trucks, along with his older sisters.
In looking back, Cody Noordzy said it all went by so fast because he was "amped up," but as a former Myakka City Fire Control District volunteer, he knew his family was in good hands.
"She wanted a natural childbirth," Cody Noordzy said of his wife. "She wanted the whole experience."
The result is a happy, "energetic" 5-year-old in Harry, who loved his present from the firefighters and the tour. Whether the reunion continues on Harry's milestone birthdays remains to be seen, but Allee Noordzy said the firefighters always will be a part of Harry's life.
It was obvious watching Harry climb into the fire trucks that he is making the most of it.
"It's Harry's world, and we're just living in it," Allee Noordzy said.
