Collierville Fire Station 6 to activate Shelby County’s first Safe Haven Baby Box for newborn surrender
A new 24/7 infant surrender option is being added to a Collierville fire station
Collierville Fire & Rescue is set to place Shelby County’s first Safe Haven Baby Box into service at Fire Station 6, located at 11670 East Shelby Drive. The station opened in December 2025 and is staffed around the clock.
The device is designed to allow a newborn to be surrendered anonymously and legally, without requiring the surrendering parent to provide identifying information. The installation marks a new local access point within Tennessee’s Safe Haven framework, which permits the surrender of an unharmed infant up to 45 days old.
How the Safe Haven Baby Box is intended to work
A Safe Haven Baby Box is a secured, exterior-facing drop-off device built into a facility so that an infant can be placed inside from outside the building. Once the door is closed, an alarm system is intended to alert on-duty personnel so the baby can be retrieved promptly and receive immediate care and medical evaluation.
Under Tennessee law, a newborn may be surrendered within the age limit at designated locations, including 24-hour staffed fire stations. Collierville Fire & Rescue lists all of its fire stations as designated Safe Haven facilities, meaning infants can also be surrendered directly to on-duty staff.
Location: Collierville Fire Station 6, 11670 East Shelby Drive
Availability: 24 hours a day
Age limit under Tennessee law: up to 45 days old
Why this matters regionally
The Collierville installation is described as Shelby County’s first Safe Haven Baby Box and the Mid-South’s third such location. A separate Safe Haven Baby Box in Atoka, Tennessee, was installed in November 2024 and was used in early January 2026, when an infant was surrendered and reported to be healthy.
Supporters of baby boxes describe them as a means to reduce unsafe abandonments by providing a clearly marked, anonymous option at a facility staffed to respond quickly. At the same time, national debate around baby boxes has highlighted concerns raised by some healthcare professionals, bioethicists, and adoptee-rights advocates about medical risk in unattended surrender, limited opportunities for counseling at the moment of crisis, and potential long-term identity issues for children who may grow up with little information about their origins.
Tennessee’s Safe Haven law provides a legal pathway to surrender an unharmed newborn within 45 days of birth at designated facilities, including 24-hour staffed fire stations.
Public awareness and the legal landscape
Tennessee’s Safe Haven law was enacted in 2001 and has been updated over time, including a 2025 update that reflects the current 45-day surrender window. Separate legislation approved by the Tennessee General Assembly in 2025 requires public and charter high schools serving grades 9–12 to educate students about the Safe Haven law, with guidelines and materials to be distributed before the 2026–27 school year.
Local officials emphasize that Safe Haven options exist alongside other pathways for parents in crisis, including medical care, social services, and adoption-related processes. The new Collierville device expands the county’s immediate, 24/7 access to anonymous surrender at a fire station location.