Young mother drops off twin boys at fire station under Safe Haven Law

PHOENIX, Ill. -- A young mother dropped off twin boys at the fire station in Illinois early Wednesday morning, saying she just couldn't handle it anymore.

Phoenix's fire chief, Mickil Smith, said the young woman made a good choice in taking advantage of the Illinois Safe Haven Law and bringing her boys to a safe place. He said she did everything right.

The mother, who is in her late teens or early 20s, knocked on the door of the firehouse around 1:30 a.m. When two on-duty firefighters answered, she handed over a diaper bag and her twins, who were each strapped in a car seat. The boys are between 6 and 12 months old.

She gave the firefighters some information about the babies and left. That's when the firefighters called police. The twins were taken to the hospital for observation. They are in good health.

Smith said he commends not only his firefighters for doing the right thing, but also this young mother.

"Too often we find and hear about kids being left on the side of the road, in dumpsters, a lot of other bad things that could have happened. So I'm proud of this young woman for what she did. I respect her decision and I'm glad to say the Safe Haven worked. It may not have been in the parameters of the law, but it worked," Smith said.

The Illinois Safe Haven Law allows anyone to bring a baby up to 30 days old to a fire station, police station, hospital or emergency medical service provider.

The twins are older, but this morning there is no indication that the states attorney's office plans to prosecute the mother.