Alabama’s first “Safe Haven Box” where young mothers can surrender infants they cannot raise will be open in early spring, Madison Fire and Rescue spokesman Dan Pickens said Friday.

The box was delivered this week to fire station No. 1 at 101 Mill Road in Madison, just next to Huntsvillle. The box will be installed in an exterior wall. The front of the box will be accessible to the public until a child is inside and the back of the box will open into the fire station where fire fighters trained in infant care will be alerted when the box is occupied.

There will be no questions asked, photographs taken or any other method of contact with the person surrendering the child, Pickens said.

“The main purpose of the fire department is lifesaving,” Pickens said. “If this box saves one child in in 20 years, that’s one child that made it because this box was available. That’s worth it to us. A child has a whole future in front of them.”

Alabama legalized the boxes this year through an act of the state Legislature. Lawmakers expanded an existing state law allowing the surrender of infants at hospitals without being charged with abandonment.

Supporters say momentum for the boxes increased this year after one baby was found dead in a Dothan dumpster and a second in a Decatur dump. Installations have been made or are planned in Prattville, Mobile and Hoover,

Alabama’s law now allows surrender of infants up to 45 days old instead of the previous three-day limit.

Kids to Love, a private foundation in Madison County, has said it will provide the first 10 Safe Haven boxes in Alabama through an anonymous donor. Lee Marshall, founder and CEO of Kids to Love, said Mobile, Tuscaloosa, Madison, Gadsden and Scottsboro have committed to using the boxes. Foley is also planning to put up one of the boxes,

Meanwhile, the City of Huntsville said Friday it will stay with its current system.

“After carefully reviewing the new Baby Box option,” spokeswoman Kelly Schrimsher said in a statement, “the City of Huntsville decided the present system is preferable for the health, safety and welfare of the child and all parties involved. A new mother is able to surrender her child to any Fire & Rescue station – no questions asked – and her identity will be protected, which keeps us in compliance with the relevant laws and regulations. Some aspects of the regulatory requirements for a Baby Box cannot be met at our fire stations at this time.”