Mother safely surrenders newborn baby to firefighters at neighborhood fire station

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE/Gray News) - Firefighters in Louisville were called to assist with something a little different on Thursday morning.

WAVE reports Louisville Fire Department spokesperson Bobby Cooper said a woman dropped off her newborn baby with firefighters at a station located in the Shawnee neighborhood at around 7:15 a.m.

“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.”

Fire officials said the newborn was assessed by firefighters and appeared to be healthy. The baby was taken to a hospital for further evaluation.

“We praise her for the decision she made in approaching the firehouse and ensuring that the child was securely left with the firefighters,” Cooper said.

Kentucky’s Safe Infants Act allows parents to leave babies under 30 days old at designated safe places, including with a firefighter at a fire station.

“The firefighters were cautious to stay calm and quiet and try to allow the child to sleep, which they said that it did until they were able to hand it over to medical workers for transport,” Cooper said.

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