As Samoa commemorates International Firefighters Day, Samoa Newshub remembers a moment of extraordinary courage and faith involving former firefighter and paramedic Isaako Shiloh Vaipapa Asiata.
In 2021, while stationed at Maota Fire Station in Savai’i, Isaako delivered a baby boy inside an ambulance rushing from Salelologa to Tuasivi Hospital. With no female medical staff on board and a mother in active labour, Isaako found himself in a situation he never anticipated.
“It was an afternoon. We had to conduct the delivery inside the back of the ambulance as there was no other female inside with us,” he recalled.
Panicked but prayerful, Isaako cried out to God for help. “I cried knowing well I had no experience at delivering a human being, but God guided me through it all.”
The baby’s mother, Mrs Fuli Petaia, was accompanied by her husband Lumana’i Petaia and the ambulance driver. Lumana’i watched in awe as Isaako safely delivered their son.
“Two lives were at stake that day. I could’ve failed. Honestly, God did all the work,” Isaako said.
He later found out the Petaia family had named their son after him, Isaako Jnr Lumana’i Petaia.
“It was all God’s gift in my hands,” he said, still surprised by the honour.
In 2022, Isaako reunited with the baby boy and his family, a visit filled with gratitude and emotion.
Reflecting on the experience, Isaako said, “O le vavega a le Atua Silisili Ese mo tagata faatauvaa” – God’s miracles through a humble servant.
Isaako had joined the Samoa Fire and Emergency Services Authority in 2020 and worked as both an ambulance assistant and firefighter. That day in 2021, his bravery and humility embodied what it truly means to serve.
