Firefighter Adopts Baby Found in Safe Haven Box
By Movieguide® Contributor
A Florida firefighter has adopted the newborn he found in the station’s Safe Haven Baby Box.
The firefighter, who wishes to remain anonymous to protect his family’s privacy, was working a late shift earlier this year when he heard the alarm that meant someone had put a child into the building’s Baby Box.
“To be honest, I thought it was a false alarm,” he said.
However, when he checked the box, he found a baby wrapped in a pink blanket.
“She had a little bottle with her and she was just chilling,” the firefighter remembered. “I picked her up and held her. We locked eyes, and that was it. I’ve loved her ever since that moment.”
He and his wife had been struggling with fertility issues for over a decade, and the firefighter immediately thought of adopting the child.
“I didn’t call my wife right away because I didn’t want to wake her up, but I knew she’d be on board,” he explained.
The firefighter, who is also a paramedic, took the baby to a hospital. He left a note with the child, explaining that he and his wife had been trying for a baby and were registered to adopt. He then called his wife, who started crying.
“I was like, ‘Don’t get too excited yet,’” he said. “My biggest fear was that the note I wrote wouldn’t stay with Zoey and she’d be gone. It was a very stressful few days.”
Two days after the baby was placed in the Baby Box, she was at home with the couple. They officially adopted the child, named Zoey, in April.
“The way I found her… This was God helping us out,” the firefighter said, adding that it was hard for him not to cry when telling the story.
He also said that he hopes this story will help give Zoey’s biological mother “some closure.”
“We want her to know that her child is taken care of and that she’s loved beyond words,” he shared.
There are 148 Safe Haven Baby Boxes in the United States. The boxes allow people to anonymously surrender children, no questions asked.
A documentary, THE DROP BOX, explains how these boxes came to be. A portion of the Movieguide® review reads:
THE DROP BOX is a powerful documentary that encourages viewers to contemplate pro-life issues in a profound way. The entire movie is beautifully shot, with some marvelous images of Seoul. The movie’s Christian worldview views the subjects of abandonment and adoption in a biblical context. It uses biblical passages like Genesis 1:27 and Galatians 4:4-7 to affirm life and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which makes believers adopted sons of the Most High God. THE DROP BOX is an inspiring pro-life documentary that media-wise viewers may want to put on their must-see list.
