Early Tuesday morning the Delphos Fire Department found a surprise left by an unidentified man. “I woke up at 4:00 AM, came downstairs, and I thought I heard a noise and all of a sudden I heard a baby crying,” said Scott Warnement, Platoon Chief of the Delphos Fire Department, “I walked to the front door and looked out and there’s a baby in a box wrapped up.”
In December the Fire Department became a designated Safe Haven, a place where birth parents can leave a newborn up to thirty days old with no signs of abuse or neglect.
On Tuesday morning the two hour old baby girl became the first Safe Haven baby in Allen County. “We’ve never had to enact Safe Haven protections here in Allen County since the law was put into effect back in 2001, so it’s very exciting for a family, a prospective family,” said Cyndi Scanland, Director of Allen County Children Services.
The baby is currently at St. Rita’s Medical Center where her name is not being released, but the House Supervisor says she is in stable condition. The parents will face no legal consequences.
The Delphos Firemen ask that if you’re leaving a child in their Safe Haven you ring the doorbell to notify them the child is here, and you can walk out no questions asked.
Officials say the little girl will be released by Friday. She’ll spend ninety days in temporary Child Services custody while living with her already identified foster parents, parents that plan to adopt her.
“To have something like this happen and have a newborn that’s available for a family, it’s just phenomenal, it’s life-changing for this family,” said Scanland.
