A Safe Haven Baby Box will be placed into service Friday, March 13, offering parents a secure and anonymous location to surrender infants.

A blessing ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Fire Station No. 1, where the box will be installed.

The program allows parents to leave babies up to 45 days old in a climate-controlled, monitored box with no legal consequences. Infants are then taken to a local hospital for evaluation, and the Alabama Department of Human Resources places them for adoption.

Fire Chief Joey Darby said the initiative could save lives.

"I would hope that this box will never be needed," he said. "Other boxes, however, have been used almost as soon as they opened. There is a need out there, and this box could meet that need. This could save a baby's life. It could also save the life of a parent faced with a seemingly impossible situation."

Darby said the Foley Fire Department and city officials have worked for several years to make the project a reality.

"It's something that we're passionate about," he said. "We want to see this happen. It's a very long, detailed process, but we finally got the project put together."

Foley City Council approved a lease agreement with Safe Haven Baby Boxes in April of 2025. State Rep. Donna Givens, R-Loxley, sponsored legislation in 2023 allowing baby boxes to be installed in fire stations. Companies and local churches also contributed services and support to cover much of the project's cost.

The Foley box follows Baldwin County's first Safe Haven Baby Box, which opened in Daphne in June 2025, as reported by Gulf Coast Media. The Daphne box is located at Fire Station No. 5 located at 9909 Milton Jones Road.