Little Maia Cohen sure knows how to make an entrance.

The newborn was delivered Friday morning by five Manhattan firefighters who had to unwrap the umbilical cord from her neck.

"It was a surreal experience," Firefighter Mike Lynch said of the predawn drama on W. 89th St.

"It was her first and my first."

Nine months pregnant, software engineer Adi Cohen went into labor around 1:30 a.m. and called her obstetrician, who told her it was too early to go to the hospital.

An hour later, the 31-year-old mom-to-be was on the floor of her bathroom, the baby's head out of the birth canal.

"The first thing I thought of was, 'I have to kill that doctor,'" she said.

Her husband dialed 911.

"I was on the phone taking directions," accountant Amir Cohen said. "I thought I was going to have to deliver the baby."

Then five guys from Engine Co. 79 showed up.

"The husband answered the door and he was a little frantic," Lynch said.

"She was on the floor of the bathroom and the baby's head was already out. The umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck. We had to maneuver the baby to free her of the cord."

"We got the fluids from [the baby's] throat," Firefighter Sean O'Doherty said. "We tickled her feet and she started crying. It's always a good sign."

Firefighter John Keaveny added, "The father was freaking out till she started crying. Then he lit right up. He went nuts and started taking pictures."

The Cohens were taken to St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center. Maia, who tipped the scales at 6 pounds, was doing fine.

The firefighters brought some flowers to the hospital room later in the day.

"Thank God none of the guys involved are on our softball team," Firefighter Billy Harris said. "We're terrible. We might have dropped her."

He said Maia is welcome at the firehouse for a ride on the engine any time, and her mother said the details of her birth will probably thrill her when she's older.

"She will definitely have a nice story to tell the other kids," she said.