BLOOMINGTON – The Bloomington Fire Department (BFD) is now home to Monroe County’s first permanent station equipped to fit child car seats in vehicles.
Through the program, BFD’s headquarters at 320 W. 8th St., STE 220, will house a supply of State-provided child car seats available at no cost to eligible parents or child caregivers. To receive a free car seat, a parent or guardian must be receiving a form of state aid, and the driver needing the car seat must hold a valid driver’s license.
The program was initiated by BFD’s Mobile Integrated Healthcare (MIH) team in collaboration with the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute and was approved by the Indiana Department of Health.
The MIH program’s Emergency Medical Technicians have been trained and certified to install child car seats since 2023. To date, the MIH team has installed 45 seats.
Child caregivers can make an appointment or walk in to BFD’s Headquarters located at 320 W. 8th, Suite 220, or call to make an appointment. In some cases, the MIH team will be able to drive to a location to fit and install a car seat.
“We are excited to bring this permanent resource to the community, and to make our children safer,” said MIH Program Manager, Shelby VanDerMoere.
Indiana University Health Bloomington Community Health, the Bloomington Police Department, and the Monroe County Health Department also provide free car seat fitting.
