Heroic off-duty firefighter, 9 months pregnant, assists others injured in car crash before heading to the hospital to deliver her baby
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Heroic off-duty firefighter, 9 months pregnant, assists others injured in car crash before heading to the hospital to deliver her baby



An off-duty firefighter, who happened to be nine months pregnant, recently got into a "significant" car crash which caused her to go into labor. However, before she considered her own medical needs, she stopped and assisted other victims.

On October 3, Megan Warfield, 30, was driving home with her mother after hosting a golf tournament in honor of her late father when the two became "involved in a significant motor vehicle collision," according to a Facebook post from Bowleys Quarters Volunteer Fire Rescue and Marine. Bowleys Quarters is a suburb of Baltimore.

There were several cars and many different individuals involved in the crash. Warfield, a Bowleys Quarters Volunteer Fire Department member who had lately been placed on desk duty because of her advanced pregnancy, quickly exited her own vehicle and began offering assistance to another female victim whose car had benn overturned.

"I started to climb in there with her, but then I was like, ‘What are you doing? You’re nine months pregnant,’” Warfield recalled. “I ended up holding onto her to keep her in place because I wasn’t sure of her injuries at the time."

Screen shot of Today YouTube video

At the time, Warfield herself began to experience severe cramping — and for good reason. Not only had the crash induced labor in Warfield, who was about a week or so from her due date, but it had also caused her unborn daughter to turn sideways in the womb. However, Warfield continued to treat the unnamed woman until help arrived.

"I don't know how I did what I did because the cramping was so bad," Warfield stated. "I must’ve just been running on adrenaline."

"It was also important that I keep [the woman] calm," Warfield added. "It was a pretty traumatic event."

In short order, other first responders began to appear on the scene, including paramedic Josh Daugherty, Warfield's boyfriend and the father of her unborn baby.

After others took control assisting the crash victims, Warfield began to assess her own condition, and she and Daugherty determined that she had better go to John Hopkins University hospital, just in case.

It was the right call. Doctors and nurses soon learned that the baby had gone into a traverse position and that Warfield was in labor. Less than 24 hours after the crash, Warfield gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Charlotte.

Screen shot of Today YouTube video

Charlotte is Warfield's third child. She also has another daughter named Ellie, 6, and a son named Jameson, 5.

Six total people were transported to two area hospitals following the crash. All but one received treatment for "minor injuries." The status of the other victim is unknown, though the person's injuries were not considered life-threatening when taken to the hospital. Warfield's mother is believed to be fine.

"Since no good deed should go unrecognized," the BQVFRM post continued, "we wanted to highlight Megan's heroic and selfess [sic] actions. Congratulations Momma Megan, Job Well Done!"

Warfield also works with the Baltimore County Fire Department.



'Somebody out there cares about them': Iowa teacher and auto mechanic builds furniture for the needy in his spare time
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'Somebody out there cares about them': Iowa teacher and auto mechanic builds furniture for the needy in his spare time



One Iowa teacher and part-time auto mechanic spends much of his free time building furniture for those in need.

Nate Evans — a full-time teacher at Des Moines Christian School in Urbandale, Iowa — began the furniture-making project in the early days of the COVID lockdowns, when many students suddenly found themselves at home learning remotely but without the equipment they needed to succeed.

"Two years ago this September, we began Woodworking with a Purpose, right here in the garage with a few friends making desks for kids in need," Evans said.

At that time, he and several volunteers built about 2,000 desks for local students.

But that was only the beginning. The project then morphed into an opportunity to help foster kids and foster families by providing wooden storage chests that would make the moving and adjustment processes a bit easier for everyone involved.

"[K]ids struggle with moving in to their new place with nothing," Evans said he learned from his sister, who had been a foster parent.

In addition to helping foster families, the Woodworking with a Purpose project, a non-profit organization, now builds all kinds of wood-based furniture, such as coffee tables and end tables, for those with many different kinds of needs.

"If your neighbors needed something, if you could help them somehow, that was the kind of family I grew up in," Evans remarked.

Despite their enthusiasm, Evans and his volunteer helpers have faced several obstacles along the way. Lumber prices rose considerably during 2021 and reached a peak of $1,357 per thousand board-feet back in March, so acquiring materials became difficult and expensive.

The group also relies almost entirely on monetary donations and donated supplies to keep things running, and when and how much people will donate is often unpredictable.

"We are in need of a few new tools such as a belt sander, hand planer, and a few other things," Evans's group posted on Facebook. "We are unable to purchase any equipment through donated funds, so all tools are my own."

Still, despite the scarcity of adequate supplies and the increased costs of production, Evans and other Woodworking with a Purpose members have continued to "bless" people with their time and talents.

"We were able to do that for them and bless them with that," Evans said about building furniture, "and give them a chance to know that somebody out there cares about them loves them and wants to do something good."



San Francisco's school board actually denies gay parent spot on advisory council — because he's white



The San Francisco Unified School District's Board of Education just can't seem to steer clear of national headline-grabbing controversy these days. But its latest move might be worthy of the championship trophy.

What gives now?

At Tuesday's board meeting, a gay parent named Seth Brenzel was supposed to be appointed to the Parent Advisory Council, KGO-TV reported.

But alas, it was not to be.

Brenzel, as you can see, is white — and that wasn't flying with the board, which rejected Brenzel over his race, the station said.

The current makeup of the all-women PAC is as follows, according to KGO:

  • Three Latinas
  • Three whites
  • Two blacks
  • One Asian
  • One Pacific Islander

School Board Commissioner Alison Collins strongly advocated that the council — which advises the board on issues that affect students and parents — needed to be more racially diverse, the station said.

"In a district that has so many monolingual families and specifically so many Chinese-speaking families, this is not OK to me," Collins noted, according to KGO.

About 33% of SFUSD students are Asian, 28% are Latino, 15% are white, and 6% are black, the station said.

Brenzel would have been the only man on the council — and the board argued that adding a white male in particular would tip the balance, making whites the "dominating race" on the PAC, the station added.

"It's actually about who has a voice in our public schools, and public schools are the cornerstone of our democracy," Commissioner Matt Alexander said, according to KGO.

What was the council's reaction to the board's decision?

The station said PAC members were surprised at the board's decision, especially since no board members previously questioned their selections.

The council members did attempt to defend their selection of Brenzel at the meeting, KGO noted.

Michelle Jacques-Menegaz, who serves on the PAC, said "the fact that he brings diversity to our group in other ways, as many people brought up last night, I think was one of the factors that we considered," the station reported.

While Commissioner Mark Sanchez said, "We need qualified people, and we need representation," KGO reported that he took the matter off the table and let people of color apply after sensing he lacked votes. But Sanchez noted that he hopes Brenzel will apply again, the station said.

"He's gay, that's an important voice that we don't have right now, and he's a man," Sanchez told KGO. "There are no males on the committee, and I'm really looking forward to having his name brought back to us in a month or two and voting on it with a slate of other folks."

PAC members told the station that they've heard from a number of potential candidates interested in joining the council following Tuesday's meeting, the station noted.

Volunteer's arm 'nearly' torn off by tiger at sanctuary owned by 'Tiger King' subject Carole Baskin



A volunteer for "Tiger King" subject Carole Baskin's Big Cat Rescue had her arm "nearly" torn off by a tiger at the sanctuary on Thursday, according to the organization.

The attack occurred the same day the House of Representatives took up a bill pushed by Baskins, designed to "restrict direct contact between the public and big cats."

What are the details?

In a Facebook post, Big Cat Rescue announced that Candy Couser, who has volunteered at the sanctuary for five years, was attacked by a tiger named Kimba who "grabbed her arm and nearly tore it off at the shoulder." The organization explained that the incident was an accident but noted that Couser broke protocols and expressed her desire that Kimba not "come to any harm for this mistake."

The sanctuary later posted an update on Couser's condition on their website, stating that the volunteer was headed into surgery and that her arm was broken in three places but that she was able to move her fingers despite a badly damaged shoulder. They also noted that the CDC could require Kimba to be put down, but "that's unlikely given the fact that he's vaccinated and Candy does not want him to be killed for doing what comes naturally."

Big Cat Rescue wrote in its initial message:

This happened on the day our federal bill to ban cub handling and private possession comes to the House floor for a vote. The fact that, despite our intense safety protocols and excellent record of safety, an injury like this can occur just confirms the inherent danger in dealing with these animals and why we need the Big Cat Public Safety Act to eliminate having them untracked in backyards around the country and ending up in sanctuaries where wonderful people like Candy Couser have committed themselves to providing care for those discarded by the pay to play industry.

House Democrats have taken heat from Republicans in recent days for taking up the Big Cat Public Safety Act, dubbing it the "Tiger King" bill and chastising House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for prioritizing the measure while party leaders have failed to reach an agreement on further COVID-19 relief—which Pelosi and the White House have been negotiating for months.

The legislation, H.R. 1380, "revises restrictions on the possession and exhibition of big cats, including to restrict direct contact between the public and big cats," according to its brief summary.

What's the background?

Netflix released "Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness" in March amid initial coronavirus shutdowns, and the docuseries topped the charts. Its main subject, Joe Exotic, whose given name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, is currently serving time in federal prison after being convicted of hiring a hit on Baskins over her seeking to shut down his big cat attraction for breeding cubs and allowing in the public.

The show's attention prompted the sheriff of Hillsborough County, Florida, to ask for new leads in the case of Baskin's missing second husband, Don Lewis. Baskin vehemently denies having anything to do with Lewis' disappearance.