Parma Fire Station No. 3 has a new way to save a life before a crisis call ever comes in: a Safe Haven Baby Box, installed in a vestibule on the north side of the building at 6655 Ridge Road, now gives parents in crisis a legal, anonymous way to surrender a newborn. The device heats and cools depending on the season, and any time it is opened, it automatically sends an alert to dispatch and firefighters so the newborn receives immediate care.
Parma Fire Chief Lou Davis framed the addition in stark terms, saying, “No parent in crisis has to face that moment alone and no vulnerable newborn should ever be left unprotected,” according to Cleveland.com. The department has previously noted that a desperate parent has not anonymously dropped off a baby at a Parma fire station in recent memory, but officials say the box provides another life-saving resource to protect vulnerable newborns regardless. The Knights of Columbus donated $10,000 toward the Safe Haven Baby Box, and the fraternal organization's local Council 16137 at Saint Charles Borromeo Parish has since created a monthly 50/50 raffle to help cover the box's ongoing maintenance and operational costs.
A Mayor's Personal Connection to the Cause
For Parma Mayor Tim DeGeeter, the project carries weight beyond city business. DeGeeter, who was adopted as a baby through Catholic Charities in Indiana, called the safe haven box addition deeply personal, per the same account from Cleveland.com. Years before becoming mayor in 2012, DeGeeter served as a state representative and worked on passing legislation in 2008 that expanded the time period parents are given under Ohio's Safe Haven law.
That legislative history lines up with the broader statutory framework now governing boxes like Parma's. Under Ohio's Safe Haven Law, birth parents are legally permitted to surrender an unharmed infant up to 30 days old anonymously without facing criminal prosecution for abandonment, according to the Ohio Department of Children and Youth. The state originally enacted its Safe Haven Law in 2001 with a 72-hour surrender window before the 2008 expansion pushed that window to a full 30 days.
Strict State Rules Govern the Boxes
Ohio doesn't let just anyone install these devices. Newborn safety incubators must be officially registered with the Ohio Department of Health, which requires authorized operators, restricted by law to hospitals, law enforcement agencies, and emergency service organizations, to pay a $500 fee, submit annual compliance attestations, and renew registration every three years. State rules also mandate that the boxes lock automatically from the outside upon placement, maintain internal climate control, notify facility staff within 30 seconds, and trigger an automatic 911 dispatch call if unstaffed or unresponsive, per the Child Welfare Information Gateway.
The devices are supplied by Safe Haven Baby Boxes, a non-profit founded in 2015 by Monica Kelsey, a U.S. Navy veteran and former firefighter who was herself abandoned as an infant at an Ohio hospital, according to WABE. Kelsey has said she was inspired to launch the program in the United States after encountering a similar baby box in South Africa. Ohio had 27 installed Safe Haven Baby Boxes as of 2024, placing it among the states with the most, alongside Indiana, Kentucky, and Arkansas, per StopSHBBNow tracking data, though Indiana leads the nation with more than 150 installed locations.
What Happens After a Surrender
The system has already worked elsewhere in Ohio. In December 2024, a newborn baby girl was safely surrendered at the Lebanon Fire Station in Warren County, marking the first recorded Safe Haven Baby Box surrender in the state, according to WKRC-TV; that box had been installed roughly a year earlier, in October 2023. Once a surrender happens, the receiving agency must immediately notify the local county Public Children Services Agency, which assumes legal custody and begins placing the infant into a prospective adoptive home, per the Ohio Department of Children and Youth. A birth parent who changes their mind must contact that same local agency to petition for custody reinstatement.
Adoption advocacy groups caution that the anonymity of a box surrender comes with trade-offs. Boxes forego face-to-face counseling, medical history collection, and parent-selected adoptions that are available through in-person surrenders or private adoptions, according to American Adoptions. Licensed adoption agencies also operate 24/7 hotlines offering financial, medical, and emotional resources to parents in crisis before they make a final surrender decision.
Fire Department Also Sees Leadership Shake-Up
The safe haven dedication came alongside personnel changes inside the Parma Fire Department. Todd Skinner, an 18-year veteran of the department who joined in 2008 and rose through the ranks as a firefighter/paramedic, lieutenant and captain, was named the new assistant fire chief. Chief Lou Davis said Skinner is demanding, fair and committed to training and developing the next generation of the department.
Skinner takes over the role from Dave Higginbotham, who retired as assistant fire chief and was named the new fire chief in nearby Seven Hills. The changes were detailed by Cleveland.com reporter John Benson alongside the fire department's announcement of the new baby box.
