Fort Worth fire departments updating procedures after multiple parents surrender children
TARRANT COUNTY - Adults have surrendered children at fire stations in Fort Worth multiple times since September, prompting the fire department to update procedures and prepare stations for the possibility of more drop offs.
The surrenders have happened at least three times, involving a total of seven children, at stations on the south side of the city. On a fourth occasion, someone found a young boy walking alone on the street, and brought him to a station.
In each case firefighters were able to either care for the children until Child Protective Services or a private crisis intervention agency was able to assist, or police were able to follow up and confirm that the child was being cared for.
Fire stations are included as safe places where newborn babies up to 60 days old can be dropped off, under the state's Safe Haven or Baby Moses law. However in the instances this fall, the children were all older.
"So that creates a little bit different complexity for what the Baby Moses law was set up specifically for," said Chief Jim Davis.
Similar drop offs have happened in the past Davis said, but multiple drop-offs in close succession like this he described as something of an anomaly.
When the first one happened at Station 4 near Cobb Park and E. Berry St. in September, it took firefighters some time as they tried to reach the appropriate agency to help.
In the meantime, the adults dropping off the child started to appear increasingly nervous about the situation, according to Lt. Kaleb Kemp.
"They're sitting in their car, and my guys are trying to assess the child," he said. "They didn't want to give the child over to us at that time."
The couple eventually drove away, but firefighters had gathered enough information for police to eventually find them again and assure that the child was being taken care of.
As word of the event got around, Davis said, crews and the department as a whole wanted to be sure they were ready for a similar situation.
Thus, in November when a couple brought four children to Station 17, Lt. Jake Pannell said by the time he got downstairs his engineers were already engaging with the kids, while another was on the phone to the right agency to help.
They were using coloring books that are now stocked in the front lobby of the station, and playing games on iPads. The kids eventually went upstairs to the firefighter's living room area and watched YouTube while the crews worked on the situation.
"It's fairly stressful for them (firefighters) too," Davis said. "Because they've got kids at home. It's Christmas. They're like 'Oh my God let's get this kid something to eat'."
While there can be legal concerns of abandonment or child endangerment with surrendering a child, Davis said the department's goal has been very simply to provide a safe place, do it a non-judgmental way, and try to gather enough information to make sure someone can follow up with parents or family to provide the best possible outcome for the child