A baby boy was surrendered to a Safe Haven Baby Box on Monday in Montgomery County, Kentucky, officials said.
The surrender marks the fiftieth baby box surrender nationwide since Safe Haven Baby Boxes began in 2015, WKYT reported.
“Monday afternoon, we were honored and blessed to have a baby surrendered at our Fire Station in Montgomery County, KY. The baby boy was surrendered and appeared to be in good health and was transported to our local hospital,” Montgomery County Fire Captain Zachary Adams said in a press release, according to LEX18. “We want to thank Gateway Right to Life for making this possible and Montgomery County Kiwanis for 100 percent funding of this project! There aren’t words to express how happy we are to be part of this opportunity!”
Baby boxes were created to deter parents from abandoning their newborns in unsafe conditions, potentially leaving them to die. Baby boxes are temperature-controlled incubators often built into exterior walls of fire stations, police stations, and hospitals that can be accessed from the inside. At-risk mothers can safely and legally place their newborns inside. Once a baby is inside the baby box, the outside door locks, and the mother has time to leave before an alarm goes off alerting first responders or hospital staff to the child’s presence.
The baby is then quickly removed and sent to a hospital for a wellness check. From there, the baby is usually placed into state custody and is often adopted quickly.
Montgomery County firefighters were out of the station training when they were alerted to the baby box surrender at their High Street firehouse, WKYT reported. Firefighters said they responded within three minutes once the alarm went off and quickly transported the child to a local hospital.
“It is weird to make an emergency run back to the station,” Adams told the outlet
“Words cannot describe it. We weren’t expecting this. I truthfully thought the box would never be used,” Adams added.
The surrender marks the first time the box has been used since it was dedicated on April 4.
“What do you say in a moment like this? You know? I want to say thank you to the mother that made a tough decision,” Montgomery County Judge-Executive Chris Haddix said.
Luke Neltner, a part-time firefighter and EMT for the Montgomery County Fire Department, who was the ambulance driver for the infant, said the surrender “gives that baby a chance.”
“I don’t know what the parents are going through, and nobody will ever will,” Neltner said.
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