GRAND JUNCTION Colo. (KREX)- A rare emergency dispatch call on Tuesday ended with the birth of a baby delivered over the phone by a 911 dispatcher in a remote area of the Grand Mesa.

For GJPD dispatcher Sarah Arrants, it marked the second time in her career she has guided a caller through birth before emergency crews could arrive.

“It was my last call of the day, and I answered the phone and learned very quickly that there is a child coming into the world, that we were not going to have time to get to the hospital,” Arrants said.

Specialized training and established protocols, ensure dispatchers are equipped to handle high-pressure situations like this.

“We have a whole system that allows us to have guided questions,” Arrants explained. “It helps us through the process of telling the fire department and EMS what exactly is going on, as well as giving us instructions to provide pre-arrival care before EMS gets there.”

Arrants credits the team’s protocols, saying any trained dispatcher could have handled the call just the same.

“It’s really the luck of the call,” she said. “Anyone else could have answered that phone and done the same exact thing that I did. That’s what our protocols are there for.”

She refers to moments like this as “happy calls,” which are a contrast to the intense calls normally seen in emergency dispatch work.

“This call is definitely one of those ones where you walk away just feeling happy and joy to assist in bringing somebody into the world,” Arrants said.

It was the second over-the-phone delivery in Mesa County this year. The first was on July 3, when dispatcher Kasie helped deliver a baby girl. A social media post from GJPD the following day shared the good news: “The baby was successfully delivered and crying on the phone before the ambulance even arrived.”

In Mesa County, every 911 call is unique. But thanks to quick thinking, calm instruction, and reliable protocols, these babies got a head start on life before ambulances even arrived.