Walk past the north side of the Fort Dodge firehouse and you may well spot a kind of hatch or doorway built into the side of the building.

That little doorway may be the path to safety and a full happy life for a baby.

Inside that doorway is a bassinet in which a desperate parent who feels that they cannot properly care for their baby can place the child. One minute after the door is closed again, an alarm will go off and the firefighters and paramedics will get the baby, beginning a process that will eventually result in that child being adopted by a new, loving family.

This setup is called a Safe Haven Baby Box. There are others across the United States, but the one in Fort Dodge is the first one in Iowa.

Like so many other things intended to enhance the health and safety of a community, the Safe Haven Baby Box is something everyone hopes never gets used. But if it saves one young life, all the work that went into getting it will have been worthwhile.

The Fort Dodge Baby Box has its origin in a November 2022 tragedy in which a newborn was killed. There is no need to dwell on that tragedy. But there is value in detailing how the community reacted.

In January of this year, a small group got together to begin working for a baby box. The leaders of this group included Ashley Vaala, a former Fort Dodge resident who established a shelter for women called The Lotus Project in a former church between Fort Dodge and Vincent. Other leaders included City Councilwoman Lydia Schuur; Randy Kuhlman, chief executive officer of the Fort Dodge Community Foundation and United Way; and Assistant City Manager Ryan Maehl. Fire Chief Steve Hergenreter was quickly recruited into the effort.

One of the challenges the group faced was making the baby box legal. Iowa had a law that made it possible for parents to surrender an infant, but under that law they had to directly hand the baby to medical personnel. Figuring that anguished parents thinking about giving up their child would be more likely to take advantage of a method that would enable them to remain anonymous, the group pushed for a Safe Haven Baby Box law.

State Sen. Tim Kraayenbrink and state Rep. Ann Meyer, both Fort Dodge Republicans, pushed the proposal through both chambers of the legislature and on to Gov. Kim Reynolds, who signed it. This all took place in a couple of weeks, which is lightning fast compared to the usual ponderous pace of lawmaking.

With the new law in place, all that remained was to get the box installed. Three Fort Dodge companies – Jensen Builders Ltd., Baker Electric and Iowa Fire Control – volunteered their services to do the installation work.

The end result is something that could save a baby’s life.

This resulted from the vision of a small group of people, lawmakers who embraced the cause, and companies that stepped up to get the work done. Fort Dodge has a Safe Haven Baby Box thanks to their efforts.