SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. — On Sunday, July 23, the Siloam Springs Fire Department hosted a ceremony for their Safe Haven Baby Box, a project that has been worked on for over a year.
The Arkansas Safe Haven Law allows a parent to bring a baby who is 30 days old or younger to a hospital emergency room, law enforcement agency, or fire department that is staffed 24/7.
The baby drop-off box provides a way to do this safely and anonymously.
"You see news stories of children being abandoned in dumpsters or in trash cans,” said Chief Jeremy Criner. “Our mission as the fire department is to save lives, and this is a great alternative for that."
Chief Criner says when someone places a baby in the box, a silent alarm goes off and notifies the fire department.
“We’ll immediately assess the child. If there are any needs that it has, we’ll stabilize the child, and then we'll take it to the local hospital and notify the Department of Human Services," Criner said.
Siloam Springs citizens gathered at Station #1 Sunday afternoon for a ribbon-cutting ceremony, dedication and blessing of the baby box.
This comes after a year of work from many people and organizations including the Siloam Springs Fire Department, Audio Girl Ministries, Arkansas State Representative Delia Haak and local churches.
Representative Haak said today was about spreading the word to the community.
“If anybody ever is in a desperate situation, here is a place to surrender a life, and it will be taken care of and loved," Haak said.
Chief Criner says this will be the 18th baby box in the state and the 156th in the United States.
“We understand the value of human life and this is a great opportunity to make sure that we can do everything we can to save a human life," Criner said.
The box is located at Station #1 on Cheri Whitlock Drive, and it’s now available to the community.
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