HOUSTON – Authorities are looking for the person who left a baby at a Houston fire station Friday.
Officials said firefighters at Station 21 were taking part in a district training around 9:30 a.m. when they heard a baby crying. Firefighters found the 1-year-old in a car seat with cereal and a diaper bag, fire officials said.
“At this point if we cannot find his family members then we would make a public plea,” said Tejal Patel, of Children’s Protective Service. “At this moment we are still in the very early stages of our investigation so we will be talking with him to get basic information. You know, getting his name for example and finding out does he know his mom's name and his dad's name or other family members. What part of town? Just getting basic information and then we would move on to any kind of public help.”
Firefighters said the baby appeared to be in good health before the child was taken to Texas Children’s Hospital.
They said he is the appropriate height and weight for his age and shows no signs of abuse or neglect which leads CPS to believe he was well taken care of.
Once he’s cleared by doctors he will be placed in foster care.
Children's Protection Service will working with law enforcement on hopes of tracking down the toddler’s parents or other family members who might be interested in looking after him.
Authorities said the child was turned over to Child Protective Services.
CPS officials released the following statement:
“CPS is involved in the case of the toddler who was left at the fire station this morning. While this does not qualify as a Baby Moses, we’re happy that the child is safe and that the parent left the child at the fire station. As HFD said, the child is being checked out at Texas Children’s as a precaution and will then go into foster care. We will work with law enforcement to locate the parents and any family members.
“A parent who leaves his or her baby at a designated safe site at a hospital, fire station, EMS center or child placing agency is allowed by law to use that as a defense against child abandonment charges. The child must be 60 days of age or less to qualify under the statute. In 1999, the Baby Moses law was passed allowing a parent to safely surrender their unharmed newborn at a safe site. In 2005, an amendment was made to the law that allowed DFPS to presume that the person abandoning the infant is a biological parent and is waiving parental rights. DPFS will not try to track down the parent.”
For more information about Safe Haven or Baby Moses Law, click link here.
Anyone with information about who left the child at the fire station is asked to call police.
@cohoustonfire firefighters care for toddler left at South @HoustonTX fire station #SafeHavenLaw pic.twitter.com/GQZCysprRx
— Houston Fire Dept (@HoustonFire) June 9, 2017
