Small fire department welcomes 6 babies in 7 months

MEDIAPOLIS, Iowa - A group of Iowa firefighters is making news far from the scene of any fire.

Six babies were born to the same firefighting family within seven months, three girls and three boys.

"We definitely got really good at throwing baby showers," firefighter Adam Welp told WQAD.

"Everyone kept announcing and it was like a new announcement every month," said Katie Welp.

"We didn't actually plan it, it might seem like we did," said Whitney Eberhardt.

"It's been fun to go through it with everybody else," said firefighter Tom Brockett. "And it's definitely helpful that we`re all going through it together,"

It has everyone in Mediapolis talking.

"Don`t drink the water, that's a big one," said firefighter Skylar Schwerin

"I've heard that and there must have not been enough fire calls," said Eberhardt.

While it may be a little hectic when they all get together, these families were able to capture a quiet moment. A picture was taken over the weekend with the boys and girls all lined up on their dads' fire gear.

"It was surprising when we laid them all out that none of them were crying," said Megan Brockett.

However, the next time the chaos of a fire erupts, this family of fire fighters will face another emergency.

"We've talked about just bringing our kids here and whoever is available can come and watch them," said Eberhardt.

"We`re a family before this and we`ll be a family for a long time," said Tom.

The firefighters say they plan to make the group photo a yearly tradition. Some in the fire department say you never know if this could happen again, there are a lot of younger couples in the department who haven't had kids yet.