GRANTS, N.M. – Grants Fire and Rescue has installed a Safe Haven Baby Box, located at the fire station, which is now fully operational and ready for use. This box will offer a safe, anonymous option for parents in crisis who feel they cannot care for their infants.
Fire Chief Mike Maes expressed both hope and caution regarding the baby box. 'We’re excited to have this in place, though we truly hope it’s never needed,' Maes said. 'But if it saves even one life, it will have been worth it.'
The baby box installation comes as part of a broader Safe Haven Law initiative, which allows parents to surrender their newborns without facing legal consequences. The box is equipped with climate control and is monitored from within the fire station. Once a baby is placed inside and the door is closed, it automatically locks, and first responders are immediately alerted.
'We’re trained to provide immediate care to the baby as soon as the box is used,' Chief Maes explained. 'Our priority is to ensure the infant is healthy and gets the medical attention they need right away.'
The box is designed to ensure complete anonymity. 'There are no cameras, and no questions asked. It’s about protecting the baby and offering the parent a safe, compassionate option,' Maes added.
The Safe Haven Baby Box initiative has garnered significant support from the community and local leaders, who see it as a vital resource in preventing tragedies. The box also contains an informational packet with legal and medical resources for parents, which they can take with them if desired.
While there are touch-ups and final aesthetic details left to complete at the station, the box is fully operational. A formal blessing of the baby box is expected to take place later this month, with Monica Kelsey, founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, scheduled to attend.
Maes acknowledged the mixed emotions surrounding the initiative. 'It’s a service that could save lives, but we also hope it never has to be used,' he said. 'We’ve seen stories in the news where abandoned babies don’t survive, and that’s a heartbreaking outcome we want to prevent in our community.'
Preparedness and Training
Grants Fire and Rescue personnel have undergone special training to handle situations involving the baby box, ensuring that every step of the process is conducted with care and compassion. 'We’re not here to judge,' Maes emphasized. 'We’re here to help in any way we can, whether it's taking the baby into our care or offering any support to the parent.'
Once the baby is placed inside the Safe Haven Baby Box and the door is closed, it automatically locks, making the decision final. At that point, the baby cannot be retrieved from the box by the parent, ensuring the safety of the infant and preventing any second-guessing or last-minute changes.
Chief Mike Maes explained, 'Once the door closes, it’s locked—there’s no turning back, but that’s part of ensuring the child is secure and the process moves forward as quickly as possible.' This mechanism helps protect the anonymity and well-being of both the child and the parent.
Once the fire department takes custody of a baby, the child is immediately taken to a medical facility for a full examination before being placed in the care of New Mexico's Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD).
'This is about giving parents in desperate situations an option that is safe for the child,' Maes said. 'We want to help protect the most vulnerable members of our community.'
The installation of the Safe Haven Baby Box at Grants Fire and Rescue makes it the first such box in the region, joining a growing number of locations across the country offering a life-saving device. Ongoing community outreach will help ensure that residents know the baby box is available if they ever find themselves in a situation where they need it.
For Chief Maes and the entire team at Grants Fire and Rescue, the hope is that the baby box serves as a last resort, but one that could make all the difference in the most critical moments.