RUMFORD — The state’s first Safe Haven baby box has been installed at the Rumford Fire Department and is expected to be available in early January, according to Fire Chief Chris Reed.

Allied Cook, which built the fire station at 61 Falmouth St., installed the baby box Dec. 17. Approval was given last August for the box, which allows for anonymous, safe surrender of newborns up to 31 days old.

The baby box was primarily funded by Maine Right to Life, an anti-abortion rights group, along with donations from individuals, corporations and the community. The total cost was estimated at between $18,000 and $20,000.

The Rev. Aaron Damboise, pastor of Holy Savior Parish (St. Athanasius and St. John Church, Rumford) blessed the baby box on Dec. 18. The Daughters of Isabella, St. Timothy Circle No. 0504 in Mexico, donated $200 toward the Baby Box Project for initial licensing and is committed to making an annual donation for that purpose.

Reed said two other private donations also came in that will cover at least the first year of the $500 licensing fee for the baby box.

Regarding protocols for the baby box, Reed said, “there’s more to it than you think.”

“If the baby does go into the box, we’ve got to be gloved up, gowned up, eye protection, etc.,” he said. “We don’t want to contaminate the baby or the baby contaminate us. God knows what environment it came from. Then having a police officer come and stay with the baby in case it’s a mother-father dispute. Then obviously it’s protected until the kid gets to the hospital and DHHS (Department of Health and Human Services) decides what to do.”

He said a number of agencies are involved with this baby box.

“Med-Care is obviously a big one,” he said. “I contacted Med-Care to make sure they were able to transport an infant of that size, and they can. They have a device for it. Now it’s the installation, wiring it, getting a camera in the box, which is required. The temperature has to be 70 degrees, stable, summer or winter. We have that. Backup power. We have that.”

He said this is the first Safe Haven baby box north of Pennsylvania. “No one else has it.”

However, that will change about a year from now, according to Capt. Ashley Moody of the Bath Fire & Rescue Department.

That town’s new fire station is under construction, which should be complete by early 2027. Moody said they anticipate that when the new station opens, so will its new Safe Haven baby box.

Moody said what was happening in Rumford with the baby box was not a factor in the Bath department’s decision to install one.

“We were watching the legislative process in which they needed to pass the law before we moved it along,” she said.

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

Moody said the baby box has been obtained, and a local Knights of Columbus donation covered the necessary licensing costs.

In Rumford, Reed said that prior to town officials approving the baby box, there was some opposition to it. Since approval, however, he said the response has been all positive.

Reed said almost every baby box that has been installed has received a child.

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

He added, “There’s no maternity care here. There’s no hospital that’s delivering here. You have to go to Lewiston or Maine Med. There is no prenatal care in the area. You have go out of town for all that. It’s a tough spot for young mothers, or any mother, to be in.”

Reed noted that while a child may be given up via the baby box, there are mechanisms for the parents to get the baby back.

“DHHS has a system they work through to put the baby back in the parents’ hands,” Reed said. “So it’s not one and done. There’s a process to it. It keeps the baby safe for that short amount of time that is pretty desperate. It’s kind of like a little landing pad for a while to figure it out.”

Reed said that as of Dec. 18, there had not had been any trainings yet.

“Med-Care will be involved in the training, as well as police and fire departments,” he said.

Over that seven-to-10-day period, he said, there will be time to run through some scenarios, exercise all the backup plans and “to make sure the monitoring system is 100% foolproof.”

Reed said around mid-January, the public will be invited to view the baby box, likely on a Friday or Saturday.