Wash. Firefighter Recalls Finding Newborn on Christmas Eve

Yakima police are continuing to search for the mother of a newborn left at a fire station on Christmas Eve — not to arrest her, but to learn if she’s OK and whether the child might have any medical issues that need to be addressed.

At last report Monday morning, the child was at a local hospital recovering from the effects of being left at least an hour in subfreezing temperatures outside the Tieton Drive fire station, said Yakima Fire Capt. Jeff Pfaff.

However, the hospital is not releasing any information on her condition. A spokeswoman for the state Department of Social and Health Services would not talk about the case, but confirmed the agency takes jurisdiction of children left at fire stations or hospitals under the “safe havens” law.

Meanwhile, speaking to reporters for the first time on Monday, the firefighter who found the infant said she doesn’t think of herself as a hero.

“I was blessed to make a difference in her life,” said Joanna Albrecht, a 23-year veteran of the department. “I was in the right place at the right time.”

She said it made for an interesting conversation with her mother when she got off her shift, Albrecht said.

“I told her we saved a life that morning.”

The baby’s fate would have been much worse had Albrecht gone with her initial instinct to blow off her 6 a.m. exercise regimen, or if the baby had been dropped off on Christmas, when Albrecht said the crew had two back-to-back calls in the morning.

Albrecht heard the baby crying outside the door of the exercise room, which is on the opposite side of the fire station from the crew’s quarters. It is not used often and is the only door not equipped with a doorbell.

Hospital staff told firefighters that, based on the baby’s temperature, she had been outside for at least an hour, wrapped only in three towels inside a cardboard apple box, Albrecht said. The baby’s belly was warm when she was found, but her limbs were cold.

Albrecht said if somebody is going to leave a child at a fire station, he or she should make sure someone is there who can receive it. She suggested knocking on the station’s doors, ringing a doorbell or even phoning to make sure someone is there.

Firefighters will only ask about the baby’s medical history, while protecting the mother’s anonymity.

“It’s a better alternative than a dumpster,” Albrecht said.

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©2015 Yakima Herald-Republic (Yakima, Wash.)

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