Frankfort Fire Department at 257 S. Clay Street will be the site of Indiana’s 17th Safe Haven Baby Box and the 21st Baby Box nationwide. This Baby Box will be blessed on Friday, December 6, at 10 a.m. and will then be available to the public.
Indiana’s Safe Haven law allows people to anonymously surrender their healthy infants at any fire station in the state without fear of criminal prosecution. The goal of Safe Haven Baby Boxes is to ensure that mothers have a safe place to surrender their newborns anonymously.
Baby boxes are safe incubators that have alarm systems, so 911 is notified as soon as a baby is placed inside. The baby boxes also have heating and cooling features.
Center Township of Clinton County provided the funding necessary to install Frankfort’s Safe Haven Baby Box. Township Trustee, Kevin Evans, said, “We are proud to have the opportunity to utilize our fire funds in a manner that will benefit mothers and children. While we hope the box will never need to be used, we are grateful to have this option available in our community.”
Frankfort Fire Chief John Kirby adds, “Working with RACOM; we were able to install an alarm that will notify dispatchers immediately without first being routed through an alarm company. We are very grateful for the assistance of Center Township, Central Dispatch, and Clinton County EMS in getting the Safe Haven Baby Box installed at our fire station.”
The Safe Haven Baby Box organization also staffs a 24-hour hotline (1-866-99BABY1), so parents can talk to trained professionals about possibly surrendering their baby. You can also visit the Safe Haven Baby Box website (https://shbb.org/) for more information regarding their program and Baby Box locations.