Newborn Girl Dropped Off At Wantagh Firehouse On Thanksgiving Day

WANTAGH, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A newborn baby girl was dropped off at a fire house on Thanksgiving Day.

"I was definitely a little taken aback because we had never dealt with this before," Wantagh Fire Department, Assistant Chief, Joe Gross said.

Around noon on Thursday, firefighters took possession of a newborn baby girl, just 3 to 4 hours old, weighing 3-lbs 13-oz.

She was brought to the house by friends of the mother who said the mom had come to the decision to give the baby up.

"They just asked, will everything be alright with the baby, and we said yes it will. Wanted to reassure them," Gross said.

The baby was taken to the Nassau University Medical Center. Doctors said the mother took advantage of the safe haven law which permits dropping newborns off at firehouses, police stations, emergency rooms, or houses of worship.

Someone must be there to receive the baby. In this case, CBS2 has been told the parents called Safe Haven officials the night before to make arrangements.

"It is 100 percent legal. There is a safe haven law in every state in the United States," Scott Cohen, Children of Hope Foundation, explained.

Fire and medical personnel told CBS2 that the parents did everything right.

"As opposed to the horrible stories you hear that people do with babies when they don't want them," Gross said.

Doctors at the hospital said the baby is in the ICU, and that she was born premature, but is expected to be fine.

"She's doing very nicely. The description is, she's very cute," Dr. Harriet Boxer, Neonatal Intensive Care Physician, Nassau University Medical Center, said.

The girl will be hospitalized until she exceeds the 4-lbs mark, and then released to social services, and ultimately to a loving adoptive home.

At the hospital and firehouse they are calling the newborn Baby Hope.