First baby surrendered at Montgomery County fire station's newly installed baby box

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB)-- A baby was surrendered to the Montgomery County Fire Station’s Safe Haven Baby Box on Monday.

This was the 50th Safe Haven Box surrender in Kentucky and the fire station’s first surrender since it was installed in April. Montgomery County Fire Captain Zachary Adams said the baby boy was healthy and was taken to a local hospital.

"There aren’t words to express how happy we are to be part of this opportunity," Adams said in a news release.

The baby boxes provide a last resort option for mothers to anonymously surrender their baby and be adopted into a loving home. The baby box has a heating and cooling device to keep the infant comfortable until fire officials are alerted within five minutes with three silent alarms.

"We are so grateful that this mother trusted us to protect her infant as well as her identity," Safe Haven Baby Box founder Monica Kelsey said in a news release. "It is a selfless act and we are proud of the birth mother."

Kentucky and Indiana are two of the 17 states that have baby boxes.

Women in crisis can call a 24-hour hotline to receive counseling and assistance. The National Safe Haven Crisis line is 1-866-99BABY1. The business office can be reached at 1-888-742-2133. For an online link to the crisis line for Safe Haven Baby Boxes, click here.

Click here for a list of baby box locations.

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