Rumford Fire Chief Chris Reed stands Monday outside the front entrance of the Rumford Fire Department on Falmouth Street. Just inside the front doors a space has been designated for the state’s first Baby Box, planned to be available for use by this winter. (Bruce Farrin/Staff Writer)

RUMFORD — The new fire station on Falmouth Street will be home to the state’s first Baby Box after the Select Board voted unanimously Thursday to have the device installed, likely available for use by this winter, according to Fire Chief Chris Reed.

The Select Board agreed to sign a lease and service agreement with Safe Haven Baby Boxes Inc. following a workshop to discuss the negotiated agreement provided by the Indiana nonprofit corporation.

Town Manager George O’Keefe said that once the agreement is signed, the Baby Box will be ordered. The $15,000 initial cost for the box and installation services has been paid for through donations.

A Baby Box is a climate-controlled, padded box that locks after someone places something inside. This is a safety device provided for under the Maine Safe Haven Law and legally permits a parent in crisis to safely, securely and anonymously surrender his or her newborn.

Reed said Monday that after the Baby Box is secured, Safe Haven will install it, followed by an inspection.

“It’s an extensive program,” he said. “We’ll test it out a few times, making sure it’s working and all the glitches are gone.”

“We’ll be adding signage to the front of the building that there is a Baby Box here, where to go and how to use it,” Reed said. At the same time, they’ll use various means to get this information out to the public.

Reed said there will also be another open house at the Fire Department before the Baby Box is available for use.

The agreement by the town was contingent on assurances of data privacy and about operational control.

Board Chairman Chris Brennick said privacy is assured because, according to Safe Haven’s policies and procedures, “all they want to know is if it is used.”

Also, the provider will ensure that no video monitoring will occur around the part of the building containing or facing the Baby Box. Reed noted there will be a camera inside the Baby Box, as required by the state.

Among the conditions in the agreement is operating a toll-free phone number for the general public to utilize in emergency situations involving abandoned children or related issues related. They must also provide educational information to the general public regarding the location and awareness of the safety device at the fire station as well as other educational resources related to child welfare advocacy and safe haven law awareness.

This specialized box is part of Maine’s “Safe Haven” law, which allows parents to anonymously surrender newborns, specifically those up to 30 days old, if they are unable to care for them. The high-tech box will alert firefighters when a baby is placed inside, and they will then take over care, arrange medical assistance, and transport the baby to a hospital.

Reed said his firefighters are all on board with the program, with most of them also being EMT or Advanced EMT trained, as is Med-Care Ambulance, which serves the region.

“Each firefighter will receive PowerPoint training and hands-on training,” he said.

He said the Baby Box, which will be leased initially for five years, will be located in a wall just inside the front doors to the Fire Department, which are unlocked at all times.

Through his extensive research, Reed said he was not aware of any cases of abandoned babies in Rumford, or the state for that matter, and his motivation for pursuing this had nothing to do with that. He said he first came across the Baby Box concept in one of the firefighter trade magazines.

“It really intrigued me because I don’t want any infant being left somewhere unsafe, whether it’s cold or hot, dangerous or whatever the case might be,” Reed said.

They’ve faced some pushback, he said. “Some people are anti Baby Box,” he said. “We had some wrestling matches with those.”

He said the process in the the state Legislature for making the rules for a Baby Box in Maine was very slow, and state Sen. Lisa Keim and state Rep. Rachel Henderson did much of the work to make it happen.

“We’re talking about the health and safety of a child, and presumably this is a child that is 30 days old or younger,” Henderson said at the Aug. 7 meeting. “These are terrible, awful and hard decisions that these mothers have to make, and we can provide a place for these children to be put.”

Reed also noted the support of the project by the Rev. Aaron L. Damboise of the Parish of the Holy Savior Church in Rumford.

He said all the rules and regulations on the Maine Department of Health and Human Services side is done.

According to information on Safe Haven’s website, there are no Baby Boxes in New England. Outside the one coming to Rumford, Reed noted the next closest Baby Box device available to the public is in Pennsylvania.

O’Keefe said there are 12 states with a total of 290 Baby Boxes available for use.

Safe Haven says 55 babies have been safely surrendered in Safe Haven Baby Boxes since 2016.

“This is going to be really great for the town. It is a safe, secure option. Nothing can be more important than a baby,” he said.