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Fortville fire station to contain Save Haven Baby Box

FORTVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — Authorities broke ground Monday on a new fire station that will include a Save Haven Baby Box. 

A Decatur Township fire station was set in June to become the first in the Indianapolis area with baby box. That box is at Decatur Township Fire Station No. 74, 3750 Foltz St., about a half-mile south of Kentucky Avenue, allows people to anonymously leave babies in a temperature-controlled, ventilated and sanitary space. Indiana recently changed its law to allow the boxes at fire stations staffed 24 hours a day.

Vernon Township Fire Station No. 3 will be at 600 Vitality Drive in Fortville, on the Hancock County town’s south side off U.S. 36.

Vernon Township government is now housed in leased spaces in the town about 4 miles northeast of Indianapolis. Vernon Township has about 13,000 residents. 

The fire station will open in the spring, said a news release from Autumn Gasior, a public relations contractor. The release did not indicate how much the building will cost or how it is being funded.

Monica Kelsey, founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, has said the devices are meant as a last resort for women in distress and she would personally encourage women to call their 24/7 hotline — 866-992-2291 — and consider other options, including delivering the baby in person to authorities and providing valuable medical and family history.