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Manhattan Beach Fire Department Makes Special Delivery (For the Second Time)

Oct 06, 2021 11:03AM ● By Jeanne Fratello
Seven years after the Manhattan Beach Fire Department helped deliver Charlotte Rosenfeld as a newborn, the same department today "delivered" her to school in a fire engine as a prize for winning a fire safety contest.

Rosenfeld, 7, is a second grader at Meadows Elementary School. When she was born in 2014, she arrived too quickly for her mother Kimberly Rosenfeld to make it to the hospital. Manhattan Beach paramedics came to her house and helped deliver her safely. 

This morning, in front of the same house, the MBFD team pulled up in an engine to take Charlotte to school - a prize that she won for the exit plan that she created for Fire Prevention Week.

Manhattan Beach Fire Department Engineer/Paramedic Brian Yount, who created the program that lets kids win a trip to school in a fire truck, on Wednesday morning told Charlotte that she was in good hands with the MBFD - both then, and now. 

"You're lucky it was Manhattan Beach - You get the best treatment in the world," he said with a grin.

On the approximately half-hour ride, Charlotte (who sported bright-red high tops for the occasion) learned what it was like to sit up in front of the firetruck and hear a call come in (from Redondo Beach, which a different Manhattan Beach engine responded to).

The crew also made a stop to get her a special treat: a powdered sugar donut.

A Unique Delivery


Kimberly Rosenfeld, Charlotte's mother, said that she and her husband Matt are forever grateful to the paramedics who helped with the delivery. 

Charlotte, the Rosenfelds' third child, arrived much more quickly than expected in the wee hours of the morning. 

The MBFD arrived at their house just in time to help with what could have been a dangerous delivery, as Charlotte's umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck, said Rosenfeld.

"They were just so amazing - the epitome of heroes," said Rosenfeld. "They were so awesome and so calm."

Rosenfeld said that her whole family remains big fans of the fire department to this day. "Whenever any of us sees a fire truck go by, we’re always waving and saying 'Hi!' and getting excited."

Of Charlotte's winning fire escape plan, Rosenfeld said, "We're very excited for her. She put a lot of work into it."

Fire Education Program Is Unique to Manhattan Beach


The Manhattan Beach Fire Department's outreach program to second graders is unique in both substance and scope. 

Each year, firefighters visit second grade classes in Manhattan Beach and talk about fire prevention and fire safety. Students are then asked to draw a fire escape plan from their homes. Firefighters pick the winning plan from each school, and that youngster gets a special ride to school from the fire department. 

Yount launched the program 14 years ago, when his son was in second grade. Fourteen years later, the popular program has reached between 8,000 and 10,000 second-graders (the oldest of whom are now in college), and the department will have made 84 special trips to school carrying a proud second grader.

(When asked if they had ever driven any youngster who had also been "delivered" by MBFD before, Yount quipped, "Not that they've told us.")

Yount is retiring this year but the department intends to continue the popular program. It's the biggest outreach effort of its kind in the area that he is aware of, Yount told DigMB. 

"I'm proud that we're such a small department with such a big impact," he added.

Rosenfeld echoed her appreciation: "I love our town so much - This is just one more amazing thing that our community does."

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