Firefighters at a Louisville fire station received quite a surprise Thursday when a baby was dropped off at the fire house.
The infant was turned over by its mother to on-duty firefighters at approximately 7:15 Thursday morning at the Truck 4/Engine 22 fire station in the Shawnee neighborhood.
Major Bobby Cooper, spokesperson for the Louisville Fire Department, told WAVE.com that “the infant was assessed by firefighters and appeared to be healthy. The baby was taken to a hospital for further evaluation.”
“We don’t know what her situation was,” Cooper said. “We just know she needed to make this decision which had to be incredibly difficult, and so we praise her for that decision that she made in approaching the fire house and ringing the bell, and ensuring that the child was securely left with the firefighters who were perfectly capable of caring for the child and contacting the proper authorities and making sure the child remained in safe care.”
According to the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Kentucky’s Safe Infants Act allows parents to leave babies under a month old at designated safe places, such as:
- Staff at a hospital emergency room
- An officer at a police station
- A firefighter at a fire station
- An emergency medical services provider
- Someone at a staffed participating place of worship
(Photo: Louisville Fire Dept. station where mother turned her baby over to firefighters, courtesy of WAVE.com)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
