Truckee institutes 4 safe surrender sites

Truckee Fire Protection District staffed stations are now safe surrender sites for newborns.

First created in January 2001, the Safely Surrendered Baby Law was signed permanently into state law in January 2006. The law’s intent is to save lives of newborn infants at risk of abandonment by encouraging parents or persons with lawful custody to safely surrender the infant within 72 hours of birth, with no questions asked.

From Jan. 1, 2001, to Dec. 31, 2014, 685 newborns have been surrendered in California, and 73 newborns were surrendered during the 2014 calendar year. This is compared with 164 infants abandoned since 2001, five of which occurred in the 2014 calendar year.

The four stations are located at:

• 11473 Donner Pass Road, Truckee
• 10277 Truckee Airport Road, Truckee
• 10900 Manchester Drive, Truckee
• 53823 Sherrit Lane, Soda Springs.