RUMFORD — The opening of Maine’s first Safe Haven Baby Box became official May 12 following a ribbon-cutting and blessing at the Rumford Fire Department, 61 Falmouth St.

The box provides a secure, anonymous and legal option for parents to safely surrender an infant under Maine’s Safe Haven law. Once an infant is placed in the climate-controlled box, medical personnel are immediately alerted so the child can receive prompt care and protection.

The opening marks a significant milestone in Maine’s efforts to protect vulnerable infants and support parents facing crisis situations. The project was coordinated by the Rumford Fire Department, fire Chief Chris Reed, pro-life advocates and numerous community supporters, including Maine Right To Life.

Safe Haven Baby Boxes founder Monica Kelsey attended Tuesday’s opening and explained how the company came to be.

Adopted at birth, Kelsey later discovered she was conceived by rape and abandoned as an infant — an experience that fuels her passion to advocate for the sanctity of human life.

“This is box number 439. So we have 439 boxes now across America that literally just started in my den,” she said. “We know that this is the right thing to do, and it is literally a blessing when the first baby comes through one of the boxes in the state that these are in.”

A U.S. Navy veteran and former firefighter/medic from Indiana, Kelsey has shared her story across the U.S., Japan, Ecuador, Peru and South Africa. She said she is committed to eliminating illegal infant abandonment both nationally and globally. She founded the company in 2015.

“What we’re doing today is an act of compassion, on behalf of those who are in their most vulnerable and most difficult situations,” Rumford Town Manager George O’Keefe said.

Lisa Keim of Dixfield, chair of the Oxford County Commission and a former state senator, reflected on what she called the long journey to get here.

In 2001, the state first enacted the Safe Haven Law, which allows a person to voluntarily and anonymously surrender a unharmed infant 31 days old or younger to a “safe haven provider” without fear of arrest or prosecution. That same year, Maine expanded that law to include a Safe Haven Baby Box.

Keim said it was Reed who came forward with the idea of getting a baby box for the new Rumford fire station.

“In his life experiences, I know that he had seen really terrible outcomes for infants. And he was passionate to see the baby box,” she said.

Keim said in August 2022 Reed began pushing for the governor’s office and lawmakers to establish the rules for the boxes before the fire station was built. Otherwise, it would be neglected and most likely fall to the wayside. The message to force rulemaking required 150 signatures on a petition.

“Rep. Rachel Henderson and I sat at the polls on March 5, 2024, and did a petition drive, and people of Rumford came through and signed,” Keim said.

A couple weeks later, Keim said she delivered those signatures to the Department of Health and Human Services and began the process of forcing them to rulemaking. In July 2024, Maine Right to Life voted to completely fund the baby box in Rumford, which the select board accepted.

In January 2025, the rules for installation were handed down, but Keim said they were difficult and would have prevented the project from happening. They went back to the Department of Health and Human Services and asked for changes.

“We made comments to the department and told them why the rules weren’t going to work. In May of 2025, we found out the department did listen and appropriate rules were finalized, and we were like, ‘Yes, we’re good to go!’” Keim said.

In August of last year, the select board gave their final approval and agreement for the installation. The baby box was installed Dec. 17.

“There’s more to it than you think,” Reed said. “If the baby does go into the box, we’ve got to be gloved up, gowned up, eye protection, etc. We don’t want to contaminate the baby or the baby contaminate us. God knows what environment it came from.”

After that, a police officer comes to protect the child and it is brought to the hospital before DHHS takes custody, Reed said.

He said almost every Baby Box that’s been installed has received a child.

“That’s sad but good. At least, something bad is not happening to the baby,” he said. “It’s a tough world. I’m glad we have it.”

Reed noted that in Rumford there is no labor and delivery department. Expectant mothers have to go to Lewiston or Portland to have their babies and receive prenatal care.

“It’s a tough spot for young mothers, or any mother, to be in,” he said.

The Rumford baby box is the only one north of Pennsylvania, but that is expected to change, according to Capt. Ashley Moody of the Bath Fire & Rescue Department. With a new fire station expected to be completed by early 2027, Moody said in December that they, too, will install a Safe Haven Baby Box.

Moody said Bath’s baby box has already been obtained, and the local Knights of Columbus Council 249 paid for the baby box as well as the licensing costs.

“We felt this was something that could benefit our community,” Moody said. “With building a new station, the timing was optimal.”