For the second time since the installation of the Safe Haven Baby Box, a newborn baby was surrendered to the Mehlville Fire Protection District Fire House 2, 5434 Telegraph Road.
The box was installed in August 2023 after a legislative effort spearheaded by 94th District Rep. Jim Murphy, R-Oakville.
“Twice now, this Box — this system — has proven to work, and it’s saving lives,” Murphy said in a news release.
The newborn girl was placed in the box on the afternoon of Aug. 10, at which time an alarm was triggered that alerted emergency responders at the station to its use. The baby was immediately retrieved and transported to a local hospital for evaluation; she is safe and in good health.
“This child has her whole life in front of her,” Murphy said. “It feels great to have had a part in that, but the real credit goes to the mother who made this choice — one that, for so many of us, is incomprehensible. She put her child’s welfare ahead of her own feelings, and she should be praised for that. I’m just glad she had a way to do it.”
The Safe Haven Baby Box is temperature-controlled, with a bassinet inside where the baby can be placed, built into the exterior wall of the firehouse. When the outer door of the baby box is opened, the first alarm is activated. Once the door is shut, another alarm is activated to tell emergency responders that the baby is in the box. There is a 30-second delay to allow the parent, or person acting on the parent’s behalf, to leave and maintain anonymity.
Murphy thanked the staff at the fire station, who undergo specialized training in order to care for any babies surrendered in the baby box. He also credited MFPD Chief Brian Hendricks, who has assisted other communities in establishing their own baby boxes.
Mehlville’s baby box was the first of its kind in Missouri. There are now seven baby boxes in Missouri, and two more are planned — including a second baby box within the Mehlville Fire Protection District.
Murphy began to spearhead the bill that would legalize the installation of baby boxes in 2020, and the bill was signed into law in 2021. It accompanied the preexisting Safe Place for Newborns Law, which allows parents to surrender their newborns up to 45 days old without prosecution. Six months after the August 2023 installation of MFPD’s baby box, the first baby was surrendered through it on Feb. 8. That baby has since been adopted.
According to Safe Haven Baby Box founder and CEO Monica Kelsey, the goal of the baby boxes is to allow safe, anonymous surrendering of a newborn, keeping the children “out of the dumpsters and trash cans.”
Other baby boxes in the region are located at the O’Fallon Fire Department, Eureka Fire Engine House 2 and the Big River Ambulance District.