Georgia's first Safe Haven Baby Box opens at Henry County fire station

For the first time in Georgia, parents who feel they have nowhere to turn will have a way to safely and anonymously surrender their newborns.

The state's first Safe Haven Baby Box will be available beginning Friday, Aug. 28, at Henry County Fire Station 6.

From the outside, it looks like a small door built into the fire station's wall. Fire Chief Pat Wilson believes what is behind it could save a life.

"Prior to that, you had to come into the fire station and physically give your child over to a firefighter," Wilson told CBS News Atlanta. "Now, this gives another option that's anonymous and safe, and I will tell you, this will save lives."

A parent can open the exterior door and place a newborn up to 45 days old inside a temperature-controlled bassinet.

Once the door closes, it locks and alerts first responders that a baby is inside.

"Once that door opens, an alarm is set off," Wilson said. "It's monitored 24 hours a day at our 911 center. Once they get that alert, they alert the station as well as our law enforcement partners that we have a child within the box."

A camera inside the box is also monitored around the clock.

Wilson said first responders have five minutes or less to reach the baby and begin providing care.

The baby is then taken to a hospital, and the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services takes over.

The box became possible after Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed House Bill 350, known as the Eliza Jane Warner Act, into law in May.

The law authorizes newborn safety devices in Georgia, giving parents in crisis another option beyond surrendering a baby face-to-face.

"If they make that decision, we have provided a location, a space that's safe for that parent, that mom, to surrender their child anonymously so that child can receive care quickly, as well as get connected to the right resources to be placed in a good home," Wilson said.

The Safe Haven Baby Box will be unlocked Friday after the fire department's chaplain blesses it at 9:30 a.m.

Wilson said the county is budgeting to install additional baby boxes at other locations.

Any parent can use the baby box, regardless of where they live.