An infant was surrendered Aug. 7 in the Safe Haven Baby Box at Carmel Fire Department Station 345 on College Avenue, the fourth baby surrendered there in less than 18 months.

CFD Chief of Community Relations John Moriarty said the baby was surrendered at 2:08 p.m. On-duty firefighters Riley Cheatham and Federico Navarrete responded within a minute.

Further details about the baby couldn’t be disclosed, according to Moriarty, other than the infant was healthy and quickly received by a foster family.

The first baby box was installed in Indiana in 2016. Linda Znachko, founder of He Knows Your Name, said there haven’t been any infant abandonment-related deaths in Indiana since then.

“I believe that the (baby boxes) and the Safe Haven law is the best initiative we have to fight infant mortality,” Znachko said.. “Look at how many lives that are being saved.”

Safe Haven has accepted 132 legal infant surrenders, with more than 30 occurring through baby boxes.

At a press conference Aug. 9 at Station 345, founder of Safe Haven Baby Box founder Monica Kelsey said the baby box concept is fairly new in the U.S. and that the local community is doing its part in making a difference.

“CFD is paving the way for parents to keep their children safe,” Kelsey said.

Kelsy also shared a message to the anonymous mother that surrendered the child.

“Thank you for keeping your child safe,” she said. “Thank you for entrusting the CFD to take it from here. Your baby is safe. Your baby is healthy.”