For more than a decade, a Florida firefighter and his wife faced the heartbreak of infertility – but never let go of their dream to have a child. What they didn’t expect was that their story would begin with a 2 a.m. alarm at the fire station – that was triggered by a newborn.

Vincent, an Ocala, Florida firefighter and his wife Katy, an occupational therapist, had longed for a child for over a decade.

Speaking with TODAY, the couple – who chose to use only their first names for privacy – shared that they had spent years facing infertility. Despite the setbacks, they held onto hope and registered to adopt, never imagining their future daughter would enter their lives in such an unexpected way.

Alarming discovery
On January 2, 2023, Vincent was on duty when a specific alarm woke him at 2 a.m. He immediately recognized the signal – it meant someone had placed a newborn in the station’s Safe Haven Baby Box (SHBB).

Initially assuming it was a false alarm, Vincent stepped outside to inspect the box. What he found changed his life.

Inside was a baby girl wrapped in a pink blanket.

“I picked her up – she wasn’t crying,” he told TODAY of the swaddled baby he found in the SHBB.

Safe baby drop boxes
These boxes, secured into the exterior walls of select hospitals and fire stations, allow parents to safely and anonymously surrender a baby – no questions asked.

Founded in 2016 by Monica Kelsey – who was abandoned in 1972 as a baby – SHBB provide a legal and anonymous alternative for parents in crisis. Once a baby is placed inside the temperature-controlled and ventilated box, silent alarms notify first responders within the building. Staff are trained to act quickly and ensure the infant’s immediate safety.

According to Time, under Safe Haven laws, 156 babies were legally surrendered in the U.S. in 2024 alone. This reflects a 70% decrease in illegal abandonment since 2004, and infant homicides have declined by 67% following the introduction of these laws, per the CDC.

And a SHBB press release reports that there are more than 300 boxes installed across 20 states as of January 2025.

Baby in the box
For Vincent, meeting the baby was love at first sight: “That was it – I was in love with her,” he said of seeing her for the first time.

Following protocol, the Ocala firefighter accompanied the baby – whom they named Zoey – to the hospital.

But he didn’t leave without taking a leap of faith. He handed the hospital staff a handwritten note explaining his and Katy’s desire to adopt the child.

As he left the baby in the care of hospital staff, Vincent called his wife. She burst into tears when she heard what had happened – but he gently warned her, “Don’t get too excited yet.” “My biggest fear was that the note wouldn’t stay with Zoey,” he said. “It was a very stressful few days.”

‘Holy guacamole, we’re a family’
Only two days later, Zoey was in her new home with Vincent and Katy. Their adoption was finalized in April 2023 over Zoom in an emotional hearing with the judge.

“Before you finalize, anything can happen – and we’d experienced that in the past,” Katy said of previous disappointments. “So, when the judge said, ‘You guys are a family,’ we kind of looked at each other and we’re like, ‘We’re a family! Holy guacamole, we’re a family!’ “That was easily the best day of our lives.”

Vincent added, “God definitely put her in our lives, and gave us the opportunity to adopt her.”

Zoey’s first birthday
The next year, on January 1 – her actual date of birth – Zoey’s mom and dad celebrated her first birthday.

“It has been amazing watching her grow. Every day has been a blessing,” Vincent told the Ocala Star Banner. “We thank God for this opportunity to have a family. It’s a blessing.”

Speaking of Zoey’s biological mom, whose identity remains unknown, Vincent added: “It’s not about me. It’s not about my wife. It’s not about our journey to have kids. It’s not about me being a first responder. It’s about this beautiful little girl who was given the chance of life, and that she’s been adopted, she’s loved and hopefully her birth mother sees it and recognizes that she did the right thing.”

He added, “She doesn’t have to worry anymore. Her daughter’s taken care of and is loved beyond words.”

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