San Angelo to Unveil Safe Haven Baby Box at Central Fire Station

SAN ANGELO, TX — A Safe Haven Baby Box will be blessed and officially unveiled at 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 5, at Central Fire Station, 306 W. 1st St., giving parents in crisis an anonymous, legal option to surrender a newborn. 

The climate-controlled box is the 477th in the nation and the 23rd in Texas, according to a news release from Safe Haven Baby Boxes. It was installed in collaboration with the San Angelo Fire Department and the Junior League of San Angelo. The public is invited to the ceremony, after which the box is expected to be available for use. 

The device is mounted on an exterior wall of the fire station. When an infant is placed inside, the outer door locks automatically and a silent alarm alerts firefighters, who retrieve the baby through an interior door. The infant is then taken to a hospital for evaluation. Texas law allows the legal, anonymous surrender of an unharmed infant 60 days old or younger at designated locations such as fire stations and hospitals. 

The box is monitored and will alert dispatch so units can respond. 

“We are the only organization providing complete anonymity, and we want these mothers to know we are there for them and their infant before and following a surrender,” Safe Haven Baby Boxes founder Monica Kelsey said in the release. 

Texas’ Safe Haven Law, also known as the Baby Moses Law, was passed in 1999 and allows parents to leave an unharmed newborn at a designated Safe Haven location while remaining anonymous. Parents in crisis can call or text the 24-hour Safe Haven Baby Boxes hotline at 1-866-992-2291.