Council debates baby-safe ‘boxes’ for fire stations, defers bill for mapping and funding review

The neighborhoods committee debated a proposal to install baby-safe receptacles at fire stations across the city but deferred the ordinance for further review of siting and funding.

Chief Golden told the committee the boxes would provide an anonymous, noncontact option in addition to existing safe-haven practices: "This will be for those folks who don't want to be identified or who don't want to have that interaction," he said, arguing the option could prevent unsafe abandonments.

Council member Michael Boland said he supported the goal but proposed reducing the initial rollout from 14 stations to four — one in each quadrant — to test usage and reduce cost. "If we took the number down to four, one in each quadrant...we could take this price down...just to see whether or not this is a viable program," Boland said.

Members raised questions about the proposed funding source and asked staff to identify alternate funding options. Chief White and other members noted that, from a public-safety perspective, even a single successful use would justify the expense, but several members said they preferred a more strategic, mapped deployment rather than automatically placing boxes in every district’s station.

The committee deferred the ordinance to allow staff and council to map proposed locations, identify funding sources and return with recommendations for placements and costs; members indicated the item will be revisited in finance and at a future committee meeting.