Caregiver who left newborn baby girl at fire station ‘made brave choice,’ officials say
A little after 8:30 Thursday morning, firefighters inside Fort Worth Fire Station 38 in the far north section of the city heard knocking on the front door.
Waiting for them was a caregiver who was carrying a baby girl, born only hours earlier, according to Mike Drivdahl, a fire department spokesman. The person was there to drop off the baby.
As advertised on signs that decorate the station, the facility is a designated Safe Place, where parents can drop off unharmed children who are no more than 60 days old in accordance with Texas’ Safe Haven — also known as Baby Moses — law. The caregiver can remain anonymous.
After the individual dropped off the infant girl on Thursday morning, MedStar responded to the station to treat her and transport her to a local hospital. She’s in good condition, according to the fire department, and she’ll be under the custody of Texas Child Protective Services.
“This is what we are here for,” Drivdahl said during a press conference Thursday morning. “This is why Fort Worth fire stations, and fire stations across Texas, are here, is to allow mothers of children, newborn children, the opportunity to make a decision that could change the rest of their life, and the life of that child as well.”
The incident is one of two within the past week in North Texas that illustrate the importance of the Safe Haven law, coming days after a newborn boy was found in Arlington inside of a sealed black suitcase.
That baby, whom officers have dubbed “Jason,” has been recovering, police said. The Arlington Police Department is still trying to find the mother who left the child in the suitcase near a trash compactor.
Shellie McMillon, the director of community engagement for the Alliance for Children in Tarrant County, said on Thursday the caregiver who dropped off their baby in Fort Worth “made a very brave choice.”
“As long as you’re making a good decision, you’re following the law, there’s not going to be any legal ramifications for it,” she said during the press conference. “You’ll be protected.”
All 43 Fort Worth fire stations are Safe Places, and other facilities where parents can drop off babies include hospitals, free-standing emergency centers and EMS stations. Drivdahl said it’s relatively rare that a caregiver drops off a baby at a Fort Worth fire station, occurring roughly once every year or so.
Parents who drop off their children don’t have to answer questions, he said, but officials will ask for information such as family history.
There are Safe Haven laws in every state in the U.S., but the law originated in Fort Worth, McMillon said. Dr. John Richardson, a pediatrician who died in May, pushed for the passage of the law.
“I know if Dr. Richardson were still with us today,” McMillon said, “he would be proud to see that, when needed, this law is still being utilized for parents to make a right decision for their kids.”
The child was in good condition at a local hospital Thursday, Drivdahl said, and Child Protective Services will take custody of her.
He said even though parents don’t drop off their babies all that often, firefighters are always prepared for the possibility it could happen.
“We do have a partnership with the Alliance for Children here in Fort Worth, and they’ve been really great about getting us supplies for babies at all of our fire stations,” Drivdahl said. “So that if this does happen, we’ve got a ready-made kit to start caring for that baby — everything from diapers, to formula, to bottles.”
The incident comes two months after a baby’s body was found in a trashcan in a bathroom of an Irving Applebee’s. The mother gave birth in the bathroom, Irving police said, and left the baby in the trashcan.
This story was originally published September 26, 2019 at 10:31 AM.