CV NEWS FEED // Local leaders want to install what might become the first “safe haven” baby box at a Maine fire station.
The baby box is in the construction plans for a fire station that is under construction in Rumford, Maine, according to local news outlet WGME 13. Maine passed a law in 2021 that expanded “safe haven” laws to allow the installation of baby boxes at participating fire stations and other locations to provide greater anonymity. Previously, mothers could only surrender an infant at participating hospitals or police stations.
“Now’s the time to install when the building’s under construction, so we don’t have to reinvent the wheel later after it’s built,” Rumford Fire Chief Chris Reed told WGME 13.
When an infant is left in a baby box, emergency personnel receive notification and respond immediately to take the child to the local hospital for any necessary care, Reed said. The child is later placed in foster care and may get adopted.
“If we save one baby, it’s worth it,” Reed said.
However, the new baby boxes cannot be officially opened for use until the Maine Department of Health and Human Services finalizes the safety regulations for the boxes, according to the 2021 law. The DHHS has yet to adopt these rules.
State Rep. Rachel Henderson, R-Rumford, said she hopes the DHHS finalizes the rules soon.
“At times, rulemaking can take time,” Henderson said. “But when we’re talking about the lives of children and newly born babies, time is of the essence.”
In the meantime, the fire station is saving a spot for mothers in need.
“[The baby box is] a safe receptacle for a mother who finds herself in really difficult circumstances to bring her child to a safe location and drop that child off,” Maine Sen. Lisa Keim, R-Dixfield, said, according to WGME 13.
Keim said the availability of a baby box could prevent a tragedy.
