Firefighters at a Napa station received a surprise early Tuesday when they found a newborn girl on their doorstep.
The baby, estimated to be a day old, still had her umbilical cord and was breathing, pink and warm, said Capt. Conrad Perez.
A 911 dispatcher called Station No. 4 on Gasser Drive about 12:30 a.m. after a caller reported an abandoned baby outside the station, Perez said.
A fire captain found the baby by the front door. The girl was wrapped in a blanket, inside an open, plastic Tupperware container. Firefighters gave the newborn a medical exam, and Perez said she appeared healthy.
An ambulance took the baby to Queen of the Valley Hospital in Napa, where she was doing well, he said.
The 911 call came from a pay phone at the Raley's grocery store at the South Napa Marketplace, across the street from the fire station.
The state's Safe Surrender Law allows a mother of an infant 72 hours old or younger to surrender the baby at a hospital, police or fire station or other "safe haven" without fear of prosecution.
Napa designated its fire stations as safe havens earlier this year, Perez said.
"This is a really good example of how the Safe Surrender Law works and how valuable this service is," he said. "It's a great outcome so far."
The law provides for a two-week "cooling-off" period during which a newborn's parents can work with Child Protective Services to take back the infant, Perez said.
Child Protective Services will take custody of the baby when the hospital releases her.
Distributed by the Associated Press
