Madison Fire & Rescue first in Alabama to receive baby in Safe Haven Box
MADISON, Ala. (WHNT) – A Safe Haven Baby Box in Madison has been used for the very first time, marking the first time one of these boxes has been used in the State of Alabama.
Nearly two weeks after the official opening of the Safe Haven Baby Box, Madison Fire & Rescue (MFR) received its first baby Monday afternoon. Officials say a newborn girl in good health was placed into the baby box around 2:00 p.m. Monday and taken to Madison Hospital.
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The Kids to Love Foundation said when the baby was placed in the box, firefighters quickly responded once the door closed and the alarm sounded.
“We won’t know the backstory, but we know from this day forward…this child is safe,” Kids to Love Foundation Founder and CEO Lee Marshall said.
The current law states that the child being given up can be up to 45 days old and can be given to fire stations with around-the-clock staffing.
The law previously limited the age of a child who could be given up to 72 hours old. The child also had to be given to a hospital with a licensed emergency department.
“We knew there was a need for these boxes in Alabama,” Marshall said. “This mother made a difficult and courageous decision when she placed her child in Madison’s Safe Haven Baby Box. We are thankful it was there for her when she needed it.”
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Alabama lawmakers passed a bill over the summer that made way for several cities in the state to have Safe Haven Baby Boxes. They officially arrived in North Alabama on November 29.
The department is among the first in Alabama to receive a baby box. They were tested for seven days after installation before it went into service.
Once an infant arrives, firefighters are supposed to follow a process.
“They [firefighters] will retrieve the child to make sure the infant’s healthy and not any life threats immediately. If there are, we will treat those,” Pickens told News 19. “Once the baby has been assessed, we will carry the infant to Madison ER [emergency room] where they will begin the process of checking the baby out further.”
Boxes are currently open in Madison and Prattville. Tuscaloosa, Opelika and Gadsden are currently undergoing the process.
“In the past year in Alabama, we’ve had two infant deaths. There was a situation in Dothan last year and a situation in Decatur, right here in the Tennessee Valley,” said Marshall. “If those moms had another choice…whose to say the baby may not be alive and in a loving, adoptive family today?”
Since 2017, 40 infants have been placed in a Baby Box. Nationwide, over 140 surrenders
have resulted from calling the National Safe Haven Baby Box hotline.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes are available in Alabama, Indiana, Ohio, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Missouri, Mississippi, Iowa and West Virginia.
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