A Florida firefighter and his wife have adopted the first infant left in the Ocala Fire Rescue Station’s Safe Haven Baby Box, reported Today. The firefighter, who asked to remain anonymous for his family’s safety, was working an overnight shift when he was awakened by a loud noise around 2 a.m. The alarm was for the building’s Safe Haven Baby Box, the outlet reported.
According to the Safe Haven Baby Boxes site, there are currently 148 active boxes in the US and 31 babies have been safely surrendered in them. SHBB also reported the state of Indiana has not had an infant death by abandonment since it installed a baby box in 2016.
The Safe Haven Baby Boxes allow the mothers privacy and anonymity, as well as provide support as babies are surrendered for numerous reasons, including but not limited to financial difficulties, mental health problems, or even fear of prosecution, per Upworthy.
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She was the first baby to be surrendered in that location.
The night that the firefighter found the baby girl, she was the first baby to be surrendered at the Safe Haven Baby Box at the Ocala Fire Rescue Station since its installation in 2020, per Today. That night she was surrendered in January didn’t seem real. The firefighter said “To be honest, I thought it was a false alarm,” per Today. But as it turned out, she would be his future daughter, Zoey, the news outlet reported.
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‘This was God helping us out,’ the firefighter said.
The firefighter shared that he and his wife had been trying to have children unsuccessfully for the past decade and knew his wife would love to adopt the baby, per Upworthy. So he took her to the hospital and left a note explaining that they were registered to adopt. He says he told his wife, “‘Don’t get too excited yet.’ My biggest fear was that the note I wrote wouldn’t stay with Zoey and she’d be gone. It was a very stressful few days.”
The firefighter shared that he loved his daughter Zoey from the moment he found her in the Safe Haven Baby Box. “She had a little bottle with her and she was just chilling. I picked her up and held her. We locked eyes, and that was it. I’ve loved her ever since that moment,” he explained.
The firefighter shared that it felt meant to be. “The way I found her … This was God helping us out,” he said. Zoey was found on January 2, and placed with the firefighter and his wife on January 4, then legally adopted in April, per Today.
Safe Haven boxes help mothers to get support and remain anonymous.
The firefighter says he is sharing the story in hopes of letting the baby’s biological mother know that her child is safe and OK. “We want her to know that her child is taken care of and that she’s loved beyond words,” he said, per Today.
Per the SHBB site, the Safe Haven Baby Boxes are climate controlled at 74 degrees to prevent the baby from overheating or freezing and are also well ventilated. The box also locks once a baby is placed inside and three alarms notify personnel immediately.
The SHBB site claims the baby boxes are to help desperate parents and provide intervention that keeps their children safe when there are no other resources left to use. The nature of the design also allows privacy and anonymity for mothers and parents who surrender their babies.
The founder has addressed parents who use Safe Haven Boxes.
The founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, Monica Kelsey, addressed the baby’s parents at a press conference, the day Zoey was surrendered. “We want to address the parents who legally surrendered this infant,” she said per Today. “And right now I’m going to talk directly to her or him. Thank you. Thank you for keeping your child safe. Thank you for bringing your child to a place that you knew was going to take care of this child. And thank you for doing what you felt was best.”
Who knows what circumstances led to Zoey’s parent placing her in the Florida fire station’s Safe Haven Baby Box, but thankfully it was available and Zoey now has a safe and loving home.
