San Antonio installs baby boxes at three fire stations

Three climate-controlled baby boxes are now installed and operational at San Antonio fire stations, ending a three-year wait following the City Council's funding approval.

A blessing ceremony for the new equipment took place on Tuesday morning at Fire Station 7 on South St. Mary's Street in downtown. The other two units are located at Fire Station 18 on South W.W. White Road on the East Side and Fire Station 24 on Austin Highway in the Northeast Side.

SAFD Public Information Officer Joe Arrington said the locations were chosen because those areas have historically seen babies surrendered under difficult circumstances. He stated the boxes are intended to encourage mothers who need to surrender a child, noting that the department is always seeking better ways to protect the most vulnerable members of the community.

The devices are electronic bassinets connected to an alarm system. Monica Kelsey, founder and CEO of Safe Haven Baby Box, explained the security process. An alarm sounds when the outside door is opened, a second alarm triggers when a baby is placed inside, and the door locks once it is shut.

Upon activation, the alarms notify emergency dispatch and the firefighters on duty. The crew then moves to the box to immediately attend to the infant. Arrington said dispatch also serves as a backup to ensure a baby is never left alone if the station's crew is out on a call. In that scenario, dispatch sends the closest available engine or ambulance to assess the child and provide further care.

Kelsey described the project as both a company mission and a personal cause. She said she was abandoned as an infant in 1973 and has since dedicated her life to ensuring mothers have options and babies have a safe place to fall. She noted the boxes allow mothers to keep the surrender anonymous and expressed confidence that they will save many lives in San Antonio.

Arrington reminded the public that the Baby Moses Law, which allows for legal infant surrender, applies only to unharmed babies 60 days old or younger. He added that every station in the department is a safe haven location for those who cannot reach the three sites with the physical boxes.