NORTH ANDOVER — There’s something in the water at North Andover Fire Department these days, as eight of its firefighters have welcomed nine babies in the past nine months.
Deputy fire Chief Graham Rowe said he can’t remember anything like this happening in the 61-member department during his 20 years there.
Three of the firefighters are first-time fathers, including Billy Lynch, who became dad to twin girls, Sailor and Maggie, on Nov. 11, 2024.
Firefighter Rick O’Connor and his wife, Allison, started the baby boom nine months ago when their second child, Gregory, was born. He said the cluster of births just happened, as the men had established their careers and along with their partners felt ready to start or expand their families.
“There was no concerted effort to plan this,” O’Connor said with a laugh. “It just fell into place for a lot of the guys.”
He said having so many babies so close in age is “a beautiful thing.”
“They’re going to be built-in best friends for years,” he predicted.
The announcements of the pending births came fast and furious, firefighter Cody McAllister recalled.
“It felt like every other month there was a guy going on family leave like, ‘I’m having a baby,’” he said.
McAllister welcomed his fourth child, daughter Carly, with his wife Kelly six months ago. He said the shared experience has been transformational on many levels. For instance, he has watched firefighter Justin Aylaian go from “goofy uncle Justin” to a first-time father.
Aylaian has the youngest child of the baby group at just over a month old. He and his fiance, Kelsey Fitzsimmons, welcomed their son, Caidyn, on Feb. 16.
Aylaian said he waited and watched as the other men announced their newborns. It built excitement for him and even influenced the couple’s decision to become pregnant, he said.
“Every time someone had a kid, my fiance and I would look at each other like, ‘I think it’s time, look at these families growing,’” he recalled.
Aylaian’s cellphone was on vibrate at work at 3 a.m. the morning he missed the call that it was his turn to become a father. Snow had accumulated on the ground from an overnight storm. The on-duty lieutenant ran to tell Aylaian that Fitzsimmons might be going into labor.
As he prepared to leave, members of the department cleared snow off his car and packed his things to get him out the door as fast as possible.
“It really means a lot knowing that you have that many people who care about you and wanted to help to make sure that not only I was good, but that my fiance and kid were going to be OK,” Aylaian said.
McAllister, Aylaian and fellow firefighter dad Mike Vu are EMT partners. McAllister said it’s been incredible to see Aylaian transition from asking the two fathers how they balance having so many kids to now taking care of his own and learning along the way.
“Having the experience of having babies before is definitely helpful for guys that realistically have no idea what they’re doing when they come upon certain things,” McAllister said. “Our experiences will be helpful to them once they (the babies) start getting older and start moving, too.”
Aylaian said he has already called McAllister or Vu with questions. But all of the North Andover Fire Department family, including Chief John Weir, has been ready to help the fathers and mothers.
“You see how much it takes to raise a kid,” Aylaian said. “In this case, it takes a whole department.”
O’Connor said that, of course, “Everyone is excited to learn on their own and that’s the beauty of parenthood.”
“But we spend a lot of time together, a lot of time at the coffee table and casual conversations about anything and everything,” he added. “It definitely can include the joys and some of the hardships of being a parent for the first time, or second.”
The firefighters spend full, 24-hour shifts together multiple times a week. O’Connor estimates he spends about a third of a year with his colleagues.
For first-time parents firefighter Nick Padellaro and his wife, Kiana, that extended, second family has been helpful in navigating parenthood while knowing there will be times when dad is away.
The Padellaro family had their son Matthew, 5 months, in October.
“It’s nice having people at work who are going through the same things, not sleeping the same way,” Nick Padellaro said.
Kiana Padellaro said the support system extends to the mothers, as well. During pregnancy, there were text-message group chats going on sometimes at 2 a.m. and she felt fortunate to have other moms in her corner.
“It’s cool to think that when they grow up, they’ll be able to relate to each other and understand when dad’s gone for 24 to 48 hours at a time,” Kiana Padellaro said. “Sometimes that stinks, but they’ll all understand that and we’ll get together with the other kids and moms.”
At 9 months, O’Connor’s son Gregory already is captivated by the fire engine’s lights. His older son, Tommy, has replica turnout gear and wears it around the house. Now, Gregory is old enough to hold a play ax in his hand, looking up to his big brother, O’Connor said.
“It’s cool to watch them emulate it and get creative and play,” O’Connor said.
Of the eight firefighters, five live in North Andover, so their children will share community activities and attend school at the same time.
“Our kids are going to grow up together and hopefully will be as close as we are,” Aylaian said, adding that he already can’t wait to have more kids.
And if it’s up to O’Connor, this is just the beginning of the baby boom.
“Hopefully there are a lot more healthy babies to come,” he said.