RESCUING people from burning buildings and freeing casualties from crashed cars is all in a day’s work for the burly firefighters.

But one crew had a more delicate task on their hands —when a woman went into labour.

Firefighters were carrying out home fire risk assessments in Dijon Street, Daubhill, Bolton, last September, following a house fire when Khadija Ghanchi ran out of her home in shock after going into labour, two months ahead of the expected date.

On Tuesday, four months after baby Ruqayyah Bobat was born, Ms Ghanchi travelled to Bolton Central Fire Station to thank watch commander Karsten Boyle and his crew for helping her on that memorable day.

Quick-thinking firefighters helped to calm a shocked Ms Ghanchi by sitting her in one of their vehicles, calling for an ambulance and locking her house.

They also logged that they were on an incident with the fire service and called Ms Ghanchi’s mother.

Baby Ruqayyah Bobat was born the following day — Friday, September 9, at 4.30pm, seven weeks before her due date — at North Manchester General Hospital, weighing just 3lb 3oz.

She spent three weeks on a neo-natal unit before being allowed home. The baby now weighs a healthy 10lbs.

Ms Ghanchi, aged 29, said: “I went into prematpremature labour and I saw one of the fire service’s cars parked outside my house and I just went out to them.

It was like a miracle they were there.

“She was my first baby and I was in shock.

“They helped me enormously and I will always be grateful to them. I just wanted to thank them personally.”

She added: “Ruqayyah Bobat had two holes in her heart when she was born but they have healed and she is doing really well.”

Mr Boyle said: “Khadija is the first pregnant woman I have helped while working as a firefighter for 20 years.

“We didn’t know what had happened to her after the ambulance came so her getting in touch came as a nice surprise.