HENRY COUNTY, GA — Parents who feel they have nowhere to turn can now anonymously surrender a newborn at Georgia’s first Safe Haven Baby Box, which opens Friday August 28, at Henry County Fire Station 6 in Ellenwood. The temperature-controlled box is built into an exterior wall of the fire station and allows a parent to place a baby up to 45 days old inside without entering the building. There are no cameras on the outside of the building where the box is located. “They can actually bring them to a safe haven, a fire station, where that child will be taken care of,” Henry County Fire Chief Pat Wilson said. The box works like a window from the outside of the fire station. A parent can open the latch, place the baby inside and close the door. Once the door shuts, it locks and the child cannot be retrieved from the outside. “The door locks, you cannot retrieve the child; on the opposite side of the wall, our personnel have a clear door that they can see the baby’s inside,” Wilson said. Opening the box triggers an alarm that alerts firefighters and other law enforcement agencies. A camera inside the box monitors the baby until authorities retrieve the child within five minutes. The box is monitored 24 hours a day. Wilson said the bassinet is also designed to keep the baby at a safe temperature. “Based on the ambient temperature inside the fire station, during the summers it would be cool and during the winters it’ll be warm,” Wilson said. Wilson said the goal is to give parents…
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