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See what two firefighters did to distract a frightened 2-year-old girl

The toddler, who was involved in a car accident, went from crying to laughing.
/ Source: TODAY

The firefighters at North Davis Fire District in West Point, Utah, are trained to save lives. But their kindness comes naturally.

“There’s so much going on behind the scenes that you never hear about,” Fire Chief Mark Becraft told TODAY Parents. “We don’t like to toot our own horns.”

But on Saturday, something happened that was too precious not to share.

Battalion Chief Allen Hadley and Captain Kevin Lloyd were trying to calm a toddler who had been involved in a car accident, when they noticed she was clutching three bottles of nail polish.

That's when they had an aha moment.

“These 2 officers started talking to her about her polish and asked if if she would paint their nails,” Becraft wrote in a now-viral Facebook post.

The distraction technique worked, and within minutes, 2-year-old Braelyn Fernelius was laughing.

Braelyn’s mom, Jocelyn Fernelius, who is 13 weeks pregnant, is forever grateful that Hadley and Lloyd were on the scene that day.

“We were at a stop light and a lady hit us a couple of times,” Jocelyn Fernelius told TODAY Parents. “I was freaking out because I was like, ‘Am I going to lose my baby?’ And Braelyn was in the backseat, screaming because she was scared."

Braelyn Fernelius painted the nails of Battalion Chief Allen Hadley and Captain Kevin Lloyd.
Braelyn Fernelius painted the nails of Battalion Chief Allen Hadley and Captain Kevin Lloyd. Courtesy of Jocelyn Fernelius

Hadley and Lloyd kept the toddler occupied while Jocelyn Fernelius, 29, spoke with a paramedic.

“Suddenly I realized, ‘Wait a second. Braelyn isn’t crying anymore,” Fernelius recalled. “I look back and she’s having a good ole time chatting away. She was sad when the firefighters had to go back to work.”

Hadley, a father of three, says he was just doing his job.

“She was scared and I’m glad we could help,” Hadley told TODAY Parents. “The most important thing is that mom and daughter are OK.”