When the fire department in Lake County, Florida learned that it was getting a new firetruck, EMS Battalion Chief Dan Miller knew exactly what to do with it.
On July 1, 2006, then-Lt. Miller was on shift duty when he received a phone call from a woman who said she was going to drop her newborn baby off at the station, ABC News reported. When she arrived, she was pushing a stroller holding a 1-day-old infant named Colleen.
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Miller, who said he was “nervous” at the time, had a small gift waiting for the mother.
“I didn’t know exactly what to say to her, but I had a bouquet of flowers for her,” he said. “We talked a little bit and then she got to see the fire truck and tour the station.”
Colleen was the first baby to ever be dropped off at the station after Florida’s Baby Safe Haven law went into effect in 2000, stating that parents can anonymously drop up their newborn baby with employees at any hospital, emergency medical services station or with a firefighter without fear of arrest or prosecution (as long as child abuse is not suspected).
A year after Colleen was dropped off at the station, the fire department received a Christmas card from her adopted family thanking the dedicated firefighters for their service.
Last week, Miller and Colleen reunited when the fire department invited her and her family to the station for the christening of a brand new fire truck, which was named after her.
Colleen helped unveil the truck and was also named an honorary firefighter.
Her mother, Lara, said she will continue to bring Colleen to the station in the future.
“Even though it’s been almost 11 years, to think they thought unanimously that it was how they should name the truck…you never know if people are remembering her and they really did,” Lara said.
(H/T: ABC News)
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