MUFREESBORO, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Murfreesboro Fire Department installed a Safe Haven Baby Box Monday.
Deputy Chief Jamie Bigelow says the box allows parents to safely leave a child they can't care for.
It's the first of its kind in Murfreesboro, but the 11th in the state.
"[It's for] a parent who's in crisis to be able to surrender their baby in a safe place, with no identification between the parent and anyone else," explained Bigelow.
"We hope the baby will have a loving, caring future ahead of themselves with us being a small part of offering this box to a parent in crisis."
According to the Tennessee Safe Haven law, a mother can surrender their baby anonymously within two weeks of birth. As long as the child is unharmed, the parent won't face prosecution.
You can watch how the baby box works.
A parent opens the door, leaves the baby inside a temperature-controlled box, and closes the door, which then locks from the outside. 20 seconds later, trained firefighters will get an alarm that a baby was left, and they'll take care of them before they're brought to the hospital.
While the goal is to have no baby left anywhere, the idea of the Baby Box is to avoid situations where babies are left someplace worse, like in a cold, deserted or unsafe area.
The latest box is located at Fire Station 4 at 1321 Medical Center Boulevard. You can also check out the full list of Safe Haven Baby box locations.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at nikki.hauser@newschannel5.com.
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