LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A healthy newborn baby was surrendered Thursday morning at a west Louisville fire station.

Louisville Fire Department Battalion Chief Maj. Bobby Cooper said in a news release that the baby was handed over "legally and safely" around 7:15 a.m. in the 3200 block of River Park Drive, near the Shawnee Expressway.

The baby was sleeping when the mother dropped the child off, Cooper said in a Thursday afternoon news conference. The mother left a note with the child as well. Cooper said he could not reveal the baby's gender. The child was taken to the hospital for further evaluation.

Cooper is praising the mother in this situation.

"We want to recognize the decision she made in an incredibly difficult time, which was likely a crisis situation for her," he said. "We don't know what her situation was. We just know she had to make this decision, which had to be incredibly difficult."

The station where the baby was left does not have a safe haven baby box installed, but Cooper said in the release that the baby was surrendered "with the help of Safe Haven Boxes," the organization behind the drop-off boxes. 

The "Baby Box" is a climate-controlled environment with a silent alarm system that notifies first responders when an infant has been dropped off. Within five minutes, the baby will be evaluated. In most cases, babies that have been surrendered will be adopted within 30-45 days.

Officials remind mothers in crisis who don't feel they can care for their newborn to reach out to the Safe Haven Baby Boxes program at 1-866-99BABY1 (1-866-992-2291) for help.

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