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Woman gives birth at the Florida State Fair with the help of deputies

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TAMPA, Fla. — A woman gave birth to a baby girl while at the Florida State Fair Friday evening with the help of deputies.

Deputies Roberto and Henry Echenique heard a woman asking for help as her water broke at about 4:00 p.m.

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They jumped into action and within minutes, helped the woman's husband deliver a healthy baby girl near the expo hall in the main fairway.

"We tried to keep her calm," Echenique said. "She kept saying, 'it’s coming, it’s coming' at that point her water broke in the chair she was sitting down in  She still had her pants on we seen a bulk in her pants we knew that was the baby."

Deputies found a soft piece of ground and layed mom down. Other deputies and vendors held up a tarp to give her privacy from the public. She delivered in the middle of hundreds of people behind a wine tent and extremely popular BBQ stand selling jumbo turkey legs.

"With the assistance of her husband, I pointed to him and I said 'do me a favor, please. Those are her pants — can you do me a favor and take them off. I am not going to do that that’s your wife, take off those pants right now that is your baby let’s try to get that baby out right now.'"

After safely removing her pants deputies noticed the baby was already half way out. It didn't take long for the baby girl to make her way into the world.

"I put on some gloves and baby came right on out," Echenique said.

He caught the baby and held her until EMS arrived.

In total, 10 deputies helped with the delivery.

"Amazing experience to see that," Ramirez said.   

Ramirez has three young children at home. He admitted, seeing a baby born at the fair was a new experience for him.

"My wife is going to kill me for this. I’ve never never been in the delivery room myself. I’ve chose not to. I’ve actually told my wife have your mom go in there. When she finds out that I actually helped deliver a young woman’s baby she is going to be very upset with me," Ramirez said with a laugh.  

The mother was taken to St. Joseph's Women's Hospital and she and the baby are in stable condition.