A baby girl was surrendered Monday at an incubator placed at a Lebanon fire station, according to police.
Police and fire units responded to an alarm from the Newborn Safety Incubator, also known as the Safe Haven Baby Box just before 3:30 p.m., police said. Crews found a female infant in the baby box at Fire Station 41 at 601 N. Broadway.
The baby was taken to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, police said.
Police have not released the baby’s age. Warren County Children’s Services were notified.
According to the Lebanon Police Department, under Ohio law, a parent may voluntarily surrender a child who is not older than 30 days to a newborn safety incubator monitored by certain agencies such as fire and police departments.
Lebanon’s box was installed in October 2023 and was the 10th such box placed in Ohio.
‘The last option a parent has left.’ Why a baby box could be coming to your town
How does a Safe Haven Baby Box work?
Delhi Township’s Fire Department has a “baby box,” a box designed to safetly and discreetly pass off unwated babies.
The baby boxes are temperature-controlled. When opened, an alarm is set alerting dispatchers and fire crews that the baby has been placed inside.
“When the door shuts, alarms will go off that notify us at the fire station and dispatch center that something is in here,” Lebanon Fire Chief Ryan Dipzinski said when the box was installed.
Monica Kelsey, the founder and CEO of Safe Haven Baby Box, said responders get the alarm within 60 seconds and the baby is usually pulled from the box within two minutes.
“This has always been where I started my life and I believe Ohio is going to be what really sets it apart from the rest of the country,” Kelsey said.
Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana abide by safe haven laws, meaning someone who can’t find a box can surrender babies at local police and fire stations.
Delhi Township’s Fire Department has a “baby box,” a box designed to safetly and discreetly pass off unwated babies.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Baby girl left in Lebanon fire station baby box
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
