The City of Boerne, Kendall Co. EMS and Kendall Co. Emergency Management have partnered with Safe Kids to demonstrate the dangers extreme heat can have on a child left inside a parked car.
A hot car demonstration will be parked around Boerne and the county through July 12 to spread awareness and prevent heat stroke deaths in children. Displays show the temperature inside and outside the car to demonstrate just how quickly a parked car can heat up.
The car will be parked at the Kendall Co. Courthouse, Boerne City Pool and other high-trafficked areas around town.
“The goal is to keep our children, pets and any other occupants in a vehicle from suffering from a heat injury or illness due to being left in a vehicle during our summer months,” Boerne Police Capt. Steve Perez said.
Check out the facts below from Safe Kids about heatstroke:
- On average, every 10 days a child dies from heatstroke in a vehicle. In more than half of these deaths, the caregiver forgot the child was in the car.
- A car can heat up 19 degrees in just 10 minutes. And cracking a window doesn’t help.
- Young children are particularly at risk, as their bodies heat up three to five times faster than an adult’s.
Even a few minutes alone in a hot car can prove fatal for a child and it’s important to know what to do to prevent it. Safe Kids recommends using the acronym ACT, which stands for:
- Avoid heatstroke-related injury and death by never leaving a child alone in a car, not even for a minute. And make sure to keep your car locked when you’re not inside so kids don’t get in on their own.
- Create reminders. Keep a stuffed animal or other memento in your child’s car seat when it’s empty and move it to the front seat as a visual reminder when your child is in the back seat. Or place and secure your phone, briefcase or purse in the backseat when traveling with your child.
- Take action. If you see a child alone in a car, call 911. Emergency personnel want you to call. They are trained to respond to these situations.
Click here to learn more about heatstroke and the dangers of hot cars.
