
CV NEWS FEED // A newly installed Safe Haven baby box at a fire station in Little Rock, Arkansas, received two infants in only a few weeks, before the box could even be dedicated or blessed.
Live Action News reported that the baby box is an initiative from the Safe Haven Baby Boxes organization, which places temperature-controlled boxes in fire stations across the country so first responders can receive abandoned babies and children whose parents cannot care for them.
Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. celebrated the swift use of the baby box.
“Our ultimate responsibility in each of those cases was to protect the infant’s well-being. The installation of a Safe Haven Baby Box will ensure parents in crisis will have a 24/7, last-resort option to surrender their newborns and ensure the health and safety of the child,” Scott said, according to North Carolina news outlet WITN.
When a baby is placed inside the box, it locks and sends a signal to first responders, who can then immediately care for the baby. According to WITN, babies are taken to a hospital for medical evaluation and usually adopted within 30 to 45 days.
The Little Rock baby box was installed in the Little Rock Central Fire Station and funded by Calvary Baptist Church.
Little Rock Fire Chief Delphone Hubbard said that the box will enable first responders to better care for abandoned infants, according to local news outlet KARK.
“I know the significance of this being in this business for over 29 years and making those calls where you have a baby that has been left on the side of the dumpster,” Hubbard said.
Arkansas allows parents to surrender their babies younger than 30 days to Safe Haven programs or any hospital emergency room, police or sheriff department, state police office, or fire department with 24/7 staff.
