Boy left at fire station under Nevada’s Safe Haven law
A 2-day-old boy was dropped off at a fire station Friday, the first time a child has been left with the Clark County Fire Department under Nevada's Safe Haven law.
About noon, a man who identified himself as a relative of the boy's mother handed the child to a firefighter at Station No. 20, 5710 Judson Ave., near Lake Mead and Nellis boulevards, department spokesman Scott Allison said.
"He made a statement that he had heard or remembered hearing about the Safe Haven law on the news," Allison said.
Paramedics inspected the boy, who appeared to be in good condition, and transported him to University Medical Center, as the law dictates, Allison said.
Firefighters were not given a name for the boy. It wasn't immediately clear whether the man had identified himself.
It was uncertain Monday, however, whether the man was protected under the law.
The Safe Haven law, enacted in 2001, allows for parents to legally leave a child within 30 days of birth at an emergency service provider, and with a person at that provider who can care for the child.
The parents will not suffer criminal consequences for their actions and do not have to answer questions from police.
Friday's incident did not involve the child's parent.
However, Clark County Child Protective Services spokeswoman Christine Skorupski said the law allows for a parent of a child to direct someone else to leave a child with an emergency service provider.
Allison said that the circumstances surrounding the incident were uncertain and that the Metropolitan Police Department was investigating.
He said the reason the law requires parents to leave the child is so that paramedics or doctors can ask the parents if there were complications with the pregnancy or if the child requires special care.
The man who dropped off the baby Friday did not say if there were medical complications with the child.
After release from the hospital, the child must be transferred to child protective services.
Skorupski said she did not know Monday evening whether the child had been released from the hospital.
Allison said it was the first time the county Fire Department had handled a Safe Haven case, and Skorupski said she thought it was the first such case in the entire county.
The Legislature passed the Safe Haven law after six unwanted babies were either dumped or killed by their parents in Nevada over a period of five years.
Since 2001, newborns in Clark County have continued to be found in trash bins, restrooms or other unsafe places.
In July 2002, a woman gave birth at University Medical Center, then took the baby to Valley Hospital Medical Center and left it on a restroom floor. A hospital attendant found the child safe.
Babies can be left at hospitals, fire and police stations, or obstetric and emergency care centers, or they can be turned over to authorities by calling 911. But the law prohibits leaving the babies unattended.
Skorupski said that even if Friday's incident doesn't qualify for Safe Haven law protection, it was important that the man knew that he could safely leave the child with paramedics.
"That's what's important," she said.
Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440.
