SAN ANTONIO – The first of 10 Safe Haven Baby Boxes was supposed to be installed at San Antonio Fire Station 24 by the end of February. But the contract for that project has not yet been signed, so construction cannot proceed, according to a spokesperson from the San Antonio Fire Department.
In 2023, the San Antonio City Council approved the money for the installation of 12 baby boxes. As of the last update, the number of boxes has been reduced to 10.
KSAT reached out to former District 9 Councilman John Courage, who helped secure the funding for the project. He said it takes time for the city to move forward with the project because of the legal parameters it must meet to protect it from lawsuits.
In this case, a Safe Haven Baby box would require modification to an existing fire station.
“There’s a lot of things the city wants to be sure of and the company needs to be sure of before they start doing that,“ he said.
Courage said it took a while to determine which fire stations would be the best locations for a box.
“Identifying those facilities took quite a while, primarily because a lot of those facilities are older and many of them are being replaced,” he said.
“Also, we had a new chief, a new fire chief come in, and that fire chief needed to assess all of the different projects and programs that were going on through their department,” Courage added. “And priorities might shift a little bit. Where something might have been a higher priority, there are other things that always come up."
Courage said he’s been assured by the new chief that three sites have been identified, and the city is ready to start installing the devices.
“I’ve always felt if we can save the life of one newborn for the money that we’ve invested and the work that we put into it, it’s well worthwhile for our city," he said.
The following statement was sent by an SAFD spokesperson to KSAT in January regarding the project:
“The installation of Safe Haven baby boxes has taken longer than expected due to several required steps, including evaluating which fire stations were appropriate, completing architectural and site assessments, developing construction designs, obtaining contractor estimates, and securing permits. In addition, the contract negotiations with Safe Haven are ongoing, which must be completed before work can proceed. Once finalized, Safe Haven will ship the first box, and installation will begin.
“The Budget allocated for Safe Haven baby boxes is approximately $420,000, based on the cost estimates for retrofitting of fire stations, the original budget will not accommodate the installation of all 12 boxes. The City plans to install the first three boxes and evaluate their effectiveness before determining next steps.”
The first three boxes will be installed at fire stations 24, 18, and 7.