Safe Place and Safe Baby Site

Gainesville-Fire Rescue: Safe Place

Safe Place provides access to immediate help and safety for all young people in crisis. A network of thousands of businesses and other public locations across the country extend the doors of local youth serving agencies by displaying Safe Place's recognizable yellow and black diamond-shaped logo. Gainesville-Fire Rescue is proud to be a designated Safe Place for local youth in crisis.

The National Safe Place vision is to make the Safe Place sign the universal symbol of help and safety for youth by working with local communities to build safety nets that can prevent vulnerable children and teens from victimization.

For more information about Safe Place, visit the National Safe Place Organization website.

Safe Place Logo

Gainesville Fire-Rescue Safe Baby Site:

The "Baby Moses Law" is the common name of a law which allows a parent to hand over a baby to authorized designated emergency infant care providers, including firefighters at a fire station, and walk away with no questions asked. The baby cannot just be "left" at a station but rather must pass from the parent to the provider. Of the over 100 babies who are abandoned each year in Texas, about 16 will be found dead. An unknown number of murdered babies are never found. The Baby Moses Law is a solution to the tragedy by providing a responsible alternative to mothers who might otherwise abandon, harm, or murder a newborn child. It states that a parent may leave an unharmed infant up to 60 days old at any hospital or fire station with "no questions asked."

Safe Baby Site Sign

The law is nicknamed "The Baby Moses Law" based on the biblical story of baby Moses. The group responsible for establishing the project chose the name Baby Moses because, in addition to being placed in a wicker basket by his mother to be saved from death, he was also carefully watched over by an anonymous protector until he was safely placed in the arms of a person who could provide the love and care necessary for life.

Gainesville Fire-Rescue stations are designated Baby Moses sites, or safe havens, where mothers can leave their newborns (up to 60 days old) with no questions asked and no fear of prosecution if the baby is unharmed. Babies left at a Gainesville Fire Station are transported to the local hospital by EMS for immediate examination and medical care. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services will then take custody and place the child with a caring family. Mothers may voluntarily disclose background and medical information, but are not legally required to do so under the Baby Moses "Safe Haven" Law.