Eric Ayres SAFE SPACE – The Safe Haven Baby Box at the Wheeling Fire Department Headquarters is accessible from the exterior of the building. From inside the building, fire department personnel can access any infant that is placed in the box, check the health of the child and bring it to WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital to receive proper care and start the process of getting the child to long-term custody through adoption.

WHEELING – Community leaders gathered at the Wheeling Fire Department headquarters on Wednesday for the blessing of the new Safe Haven Baby Box in East Wheeling.

If a new mother makes the difficult decision that she cannot properly care for her baby, the box offers a safe, anonymous and legal way for a new mother to turn the child over to authorities and care providers who can and will.

“It’s a way for a mother in distress who needs to surrender her baby to do it anonymously,” Wheeling Fire Chief Jim Blazier said.

The new baby box is accessible from the exterior of the new fire headquarters along the 17th Street side of the building. A struggling mother who wishes to surrender her child can simply place the baby inside the box discreetly, leave without judgment and know that the child will receive the proper care.

“It is temperature-controlled, and it is alarmed, so once a baby is placed in it, there’s about a 30-45 second delay to give her a chance to walk away,” Blazier said. “Then it alarms the firefighters, and it also goes to 911, so if we would happen to be out on a call, they would send the next company to this location to retrieve the baby from the box.”

Once the baby is retrieved, firefighters or emergency service personnel at the fire headquarters will check the infant for any kind of medical needs. Then the baby will be transported to WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital, where the process will begin to have the child moved into long-term care, such as adoption.

Officials from the Wheeling Fire Department, WVU Medicine, the city of Wheeling and other local entities were joined by representatives of the organization that created the nationwide effort to provide this option – Safe Haven Baby Boxes.

“What a great day in Wheeling as we bless box number 427 in the nation and box number six in the state of West Virginia,” said Jessi Getrost of Safe Haven Baby Boxes.

The new box at the fire headquarters is actually the second Safe Haven Baby Box in Wheeling, as the first one was installed in 2024 at Station 5 on Wheeling Island. So two of the six boxes in the state are located in the Friendly City.

“We’re very proud of that,” Blazier said. “When we were in the planning process for this building, we discovered information about the Safe Haven Baby Boxes, and it became a goal of ours to have one here.”

The fire chief noted that citizens in town were already spearheading an effort to bring a Safe Haven Baby Box to the city. Those efforts, led by local mother Ciarra Beaver, ended up championing the cause and raising money that helped defray costs for both units that are now in use in Wheeling.

“That’s why we ended up with two,” Blazier explained, noting that each baby box alone costs around $15,000, in addition to the installation, connection with alarm systems and other related costs.

Getrost said the idea to launch Safe Haven Baby Boxes in America actually came about during a speaking engagement in South Africa by Monica Kelsey, who subsequently became the founder and CEO of the organization. She came across a “baby safe” at a church, and when she inquired about it, she learned that the community had on numerous occasions seen babies abandoned at the door or on the steps of the church. Sometimes, help for those babies did not arrive in time, so the “baby safe” was designed to alert the pastor at his house.

And it helped save lives, Getrost said.

In America, Safe Haven laws have been around for nearly 25 years, but most of those infant surrenders are done face-to-face. Getrost noted that this is the safest option, but it is not always the most likely option for a distraught mother who may be embarrassed or afraid to come forward.

“They may be struggling with the hardest decision that they’re ever going to make in their life, and we don’t take that lightly,” Getrost said. “They may want to do the right thing, but are scared, so this is an option. It’s a safe option, and it’s a good option if they don’t know what to do.”

Safe Haven Baby Boxes has a toll-free hotline — 1-866-99-BABY-1 — that can also assist struggling new mothers who feel like they are overwhelmed and have nowhere else to turn.

“We’ve helped over 180 parents successfully surrender their infant by calling in,” Getrost said, noting that the professionals talk with the mother about options for adoption, a face-to-face surrender or even use of a Safe Haven Baby Box. “We’ve saved 76 babies in our boxes.”

The baby box on Wheeling Island has been available for nearly two years. Blazier said no infants have been surrendered in the box so far, but it remains available if need be – and like the new box at the headquarters – it is tested weekly to make sure the alarms and other systems are working properly.

Blazier said that because of West Virginia’s Safe Haven laws, a mother could also come and knock on the door at one of the fire stations to surrender a baby. However, he said he understands that this could be very hard for someone to do.

“That’s a personal situation when you’re face-to-face with whoever you’re surrendering the baby to,” he said. “It may be an uncomfortable situation. We want to have this alternative so that they have a safe way to do it anonymously so that bad choices aren’t made and a baby is left somewhere where they could be injured … or worse.”

During Wednesday’s dedication at the fire headquarters, Pastor Mark Zelewicz of Relevant Worship Center also spoke in support of the effort, and Pastor Ken Hardway of First Christian Church of Wheeling delivered the blessing for the box.

Officials stressed that thanks to WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital, any child recovered from a Safe Haven Baby Box will receive the best possible care and resources to have a chance at a promising future.

Margaret Denny, assistant vice president for Patient Care Services at WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital, was joined by Women’s and Children’s Services personnel and other hospital representatives during the ceremony.

“WVU Medicine is proud to partner once again with the Wheeling Fire Department for this important, deeply needed initiative,” Denny said. “This new Safe Haven Box location represents our community’s commitment to protecting the most vulnerable and supporting those facing unimaginable decisions. It stands as a symbol of hope, safety and dignity.

“It’s a reminder that even in the hardest moments, compassion and care are always in reach.”