Healthy newborn baby boy has been left unharmed in a Tennessee 'time of crisis' safe haven box just thirty minutes after birth

  • The baby was placed in a safe box at Fire Station 17 in Knoxville on Saturday
  • The station crew called for an ambulance to transport the child to the hospital 

A healthy newborn baby boy, estimated to be around 30 minutes old, was left in a Tennessee 'time of crisis' safe haven box at the weekend, with the fire department noting that he had not suffered any injuries.

The baby was the first to be placed in a Tennessee 'Safe Haven Baby Box' in Knoxville on Saturday, the city's fire department reported.

The newborn was placed in the container attached to Fire Station 17 on Western Avenue at 12:19 a.m., according to a post on the Knoxville Fire Department's Facebook page.

'The station crew of three immediately went to the box and found a healthy baby boy inside,' the department said in the post.

'The child was not injured and was quickly removed from the box for further evaluation. The station crew called for an ambulance to transport the child to the hospital.'

The baby, estimated to be around 30 minutes old, was the first to be placed in a Tennessee 'Safe Haven Baby Box' in Knoxville on Saturday, the city's fire department reported

The baby, estimated to be around 30 minutes old, was the first to be placed in a Tennessee 'Safe Haven Baby Box' in Knoxville on Saturday, the city's fire department reported

A first of its kind in the state, the 'Safe Haven Baby Box' was installed at the station on February 17 as an alternative for an anonymous parent to use in a 'time of crisis'.

It was the first time the device, which is available at all times throughout the year, was used since its installation, the department said.

'The whole purpose of this box is to be a resource for our community, so that a mother or a parent that is in crisis and doesn't know what to do with a child, has a place to go,' Assistant Chief Mark Wilbanks told WATE-TV in Knoxville.

A 2001 state law 'allows mothers of newborns to surrender unharmed babies to designated facilities within two weeks of birth without fear of being prosecuted'.

It also states: 'As long as the baby is unharmed and the child is surrendered within two weeks of birth, the mother – or parents – will not be prosecuted and is assured of complete confidentiality.'

An August 2022 grant from the East Tennessee Foundation's Craig Fund helped to fund the box's installation, according to the foundation's website.

Pictured: A demonstration of the box being used with a toy baby at the station on Western Avenue in Knoxville

Pictured: A demonstration of the box being used with a toy baby at the station on Western Avenue in Knoxville

The Knoxville Fire Department posted a message on Saturday. It wrote: 'The station crew of three immediately went to the box and found a healthy baby boy inside'

The Knoxville Fire Department posted a message on Saturday. It wrote: 'The station crew of three immediately went to the box and found a healthy baby boy inside'

In a February video announcing the device, Wilbanks said it is 'an extremely safe piece of apparatus' that stays warm and notifies firefighters when a baby is placed into the bassinet, without the need for any interaction with the individuals.

He said: 'You don't have to do anything but walk up to the box. Simply open the handle and place the baby inside.

'It's completely anonymous. You don't have to tell the firefighters that you're here.'

Wilbanks said firefighters at the station will care for a child until the Department of Children's Services can come and take charge of the infant.

'We are very thankful to have this as a resource to someone who may be in crisis and not know what to do with their child,' he said.

What are Tennessee's safe haven laws?

The safe haven law was enacted in 2001 after a newborn baby girl died of severe dehydration when her teenage mother abandoned her in a shed in Townsend, Tennessee, in 2000, according to the nonprofit Secret Safe Place for Newborns of Tennessee.

The law allows mothers to drop off unharmed newborns, 14 days old or younger, to the staff at any of the following facilities, as long as they operate 24 hours a day:

  • hospital
  • birthing center
  • community health clinic
  • outpatient 'walk-in' clinic
  • EMS facility
  • fire station
  • law enforcement facility

Similar laws exist in every state, although not all of them protect the parents' confidentiality or offer baby boxes for drop-offs. 

Newborns are taken to a hospital for a medical examination and then to the local Department of Children's Services office. Babies could be put in foster care until finding an adoptive family.

Police and family members are not notified after the baby is handed in to the facility. According to the law, the mother doesn't have to provide any information about herself or the child. If the mother does provide information, it is only handed over to the Department of Children's Services.

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