Groton — A dispatcher's handling of a 911 call early Thursday morning helped facilitate the delivery of a healthy baby, police said.

Glen Riffe, a dispatcher at the Groton Emergency Communications Center, took the call about 3:33 a.m. from a residence in Navy housing where a woman was in active labor, according to Paul Gately, deputy chief of the Groton Town Police Department. Riffe determined that childbirth was imminent and guided the caller through a step-by-step process to prepare for delivery. Riffe also took steps to ensure the child was breathing.

A healthy boy was born at 3:39 a.m. — shortly before firefighters, EMS personnel and police Officers Marvel Bennett and Tyler Moreau arrived, Gately said. The mother and child were treated at the scene by members of the Submarine Base Fire Department Engine 62, including acting Capt. Steve Weiss and firefighters Rob O’Brien, Ryan Patton and James Guerrera.

Firefighters assisted in clamping the newborn's umbilical cord while Guerrera instructed the father on cutting the cord before the mother and child were taken by Groton Ambulance and Lawrence + Memorial Hospital paramedics to L+M Hospital.

It was the second baby recently delivered with the help of Groton emergency responders, Gately said.