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by OREN YANIV and JANE H. FURSE
Queens firefighter Charles Hendry isn't going to take away Mike Piazza's or Jorge Posada's jobs anytime soon, but around Engine 288 in Maspeth he's now known as "the Catcher."
That's because Hendry made the grab of his career yesterday when he helped deliver a baby boy who couldn't wait to greet the world.
"I pretty much caught the baby and delivered him out," said the 33-year-old father of two.
The call came in about 1:30p.m. from Alina Micu of 53rd Drive. Less than three minutes after Engine 288 arrived, Micu's water broke and "she couldn't hold the baby," Hendry said.
With the help of "the Catcher," Micu and her new baby were resting comfortably at Beth Israel Medical Center last night.
"I feel fine. The baby is fine. I'm very grateful for the guy. I want to meet him," said Micu, referring to Hendry.
"It was tough. I'm happy everything ended okay. I don't know what I would have done without him," she said, adding that she and her husband are thinking about naming the baby, their second child, after Hendry.
It was the second on-the-job birth in Hendry's six years with the FDNY. He said delivering babies beats putting out fires.
"We're used to seeing everybody's tragedy and this is a good thing for a change," he said.
Firefighter Cliff Harris, who clamped the baby's umbilical cord after the baby's arrival, agreed that the happy outcome "is definitely one of the rewarding aspects of the job."
Harris, who has helped deliver two other babies on the job, also said the speedy delivery "was an eye-opening experience.
"I won't be having kids for a while," said Harris, 29.
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