Firefighter Alan Kent Attends 22-Year-Old Chloe Huddle's Graduation After Delivering Her in 2004
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · May 13
Firefighter Alan Kent Attends 22-Year-Old Chloe Huddle's Graduation After Delivering Her in 2004
13 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · May 13
Phoenix marked the latest milestone in a 22-year bond when retired Colorado Springs firefighter Alan Kent flew in April to watch Chloe Huddle, the baby he helped deliver in 2004, earn an educational studies degree.
A 911 childbirth call near the end of Kent’s shift led to Chloe being born about 15 minutes later, and her mother soon asked him to stay in her daughter’s life.
Annual birthday parties at Kent’s fire station turned that promise into a lasting family-like relationship, with Chloe calling him “my firefighter” as a child and later describing Kent and his wife as a second set of parents.
The connection has continued into adulthood: Chloe surprised Kent at his retirement party last year after his 35-year firefighting career, and he told her at graduation that he was proud of her.
Mesa, Arizona, is set to host the next chapter in July, when Chloe plans two father-daughter dances at her wedding—one with her father and one with Kent.
A firefighter became a second father to a baby he delivered. What does this bond reveal about the hidden burdens of public service?
After a 22-year bond forged in crisis, what can a second father-daughter dance teach us about building community trust?