Three years after the San Antonio City Council approved funding, the city now officially has Safe Haven Baby Boxes in place and ready at three fire stations.
A ceremony to bless the boxes was held Tuesday morning at Fire Station 7 on South St. Mary’s Street in downtown.
The other boxes are located at Fire Station 18 on South W.W. White Road on the East Side and at Fire Station 24 on Austin Highway on the city’s Northeast Side.
“These are three areas where we have seen babies surrendered, maybe not in the best of scenarios,” said SAFD public information officer Joe Arrington.
“So, we (want) to just encourage a mother that may ... need to surrender a baby,” Arrington said. “These boxes are here for them. We’re always looking at better ways to serve our community and to protect the public and especially the most vulnerable.”
Safe Haven Baby Boxes are climate-controlled boxes or bassinets inside a specific area of a fire station and are connected to an electric alarm.
“They have to be electronically monitored to notify these guys that there’s a baby (that has) been placed in this box,” explained Monica Kelsey, the founder and CEO of Safe Haven Baby Box. “And so as soon as the outside door is opened, the first alarm goes off. When a baby is placed on the inside, a second alarm goes off. And then, when the door is shut, it actually locks.”
Once alarms go off, emergency dispatch is alerted, as well as the firefighters inside the fire station. They then make their way to the area of the station where the Safe Haven Baby Box is located and immediately attend to the baby just placed in the bassinet.
“You’re going to have firefighters, paramedics instantly monitoring that child,” Arrington said.
He added dispatch is alerted as a safety backup to ensure babies in the baby box are not left alone, should firefighters at stations 7, 18, and 24 be out on a call.
“They will dispatch another appropriate apparatus, whether an engine or an ambulance or whatever the closest is to assess the baby and then take the next steps to make sure that that infant gets the care that they need,” Arrington said.
Kelsey said providing this lifesaving option for mothers is more than a company mission — it is a personal one as well.
“I was abandoned as an infant back in 1973,” Kelsey said. “And so I have dedicated my life to making sure that moms have options and that these babies have a safe place to fall. I didn’t.”
Kelsey said the boxes also let mothers keep their decision to surrender their young babies anonymous.
“I think we’re going to save many lives in San Antonio with these,” Kelsey said.
If a mother is not able to travel to one of the three fire stations equipped with a Safe Haven Baby Box, Arrington shared a reminder regarding the Baby Moses Law.
Arrington stressed the Baby Moses Law for surrendering an infant legally only applies to babies 60 days old or younger, who are unharmed.
“We always are constantly reiterating the message that every station is a safe haven location,” he said.
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