ROCKLIN (AP) — A fire chief in Placer County says his midnight hunger pangs likely saved the life of a baby boy left on the grounds of the firehouse.

Rocklin Fire Battalion Chief Shawn Watkins says he got up to get some cereal in the wee hours on Tuesday and heard a high-pitched scream coming from outside.

He went outside to find a crying newborn wrapped in two towels in a plastic box. The baby had been bathed, and his umbilical cord was still attached.

Watkins and his fire captain quickly clamped the cord to prevent bleeding and called for an ambulance, an intervention that saved the baby from spending the night outside in 40-degree temperatures.

The baby is expected to be placed for adoption. Police are now investigating the incident.