POLK COUNTY, Fla. — After two newborns were abandoned by their parents in Polk County, Polk County Fire Rescue is promoting all 49 of their fire stations as designated Safe Haven locations.

Any parent can take their newborn baby to a Polk County Fire Rescue station and hand them to a first responder.

If the baby is unharmed, a parent can drop the newborn off without any fear of penalty and prosecution under state law. The baby must be less than a week old.

In order to promote their partnership with A Safe Haven for Newborns, all Polk County Fire Rescue vehicles now have stickers on them, informing residents of the process.

Fire Chief Hezedean Smith says after the two newborns were abandoned in the county, he wanted to make sure new parents knew about the Safe Haven locations. That way the child stays out of harm’s way.

“The idea is to ensure that there’s no fear of prosecution,” Smith said.

Since the start of 2023, 10 newborns have been abandoned in the state of Florida and eight of them were at Safe Haven locations.

If choosing to drop a child off, officials say it’s important to hand them to a first responder. This process differs from the Safe Haven Baby Box Drop Off location that has been utilized in Ocala.

“It is important that the newborns are handed to a firefighter or an EMS provider and the idea with that is we don’t want you to leave the newborn unattended, in the weather, or outside of a door if no one is at the fire station,” Smith said. “Handing the newborn over is what’s expected or required if you’re going to be using any of the Safe Haven locations.”

Smith says Polk County Fire Rescue plans to install and begin using the Save Haven Baby Box in the future. Right now, there’s only one location in the state. The purpose of the box is for parents to protect their anonymity.

“We’re looking forward to adopting the Safe Haven boxes, especially at our new fire stations being built,” Smith said.