Always check the Backseat for Kids and Pets

It’s getting hotter outside.  The heat can be dangerous, especially when kids and pets are left in cars.  So, make sure you always check the backseat, says Rabun County Assistant Fire Chief Justin Upchurch.  “We all know how hot a parked car can get.  A car’s interior temperature can rise 20 degrees in just 10 minutes.  People think leaving the windows cracked is going to slow the heating of the car and it does to a certain degree but not much.  We should never leave a child or a pet closed up in a parked car at any time.  When it gets hot outside it does become deadly.  As far as a pet goes, they cool differently than us, they cool by panting and everything, so they don’t cool like we do.  A child’s body can heat up 3-5 times more quickly than that of an adult.  Children have fewer sweat glands so they can’t handle these increases in heat like an adult can, so a body temperature of 107 degrees can be lethal.  So, we always need to make sure that we don’t leave any kids or pets in cars.  If you are used to doing one thing, like going straight to work and then something changes and you have to take the kids somewhere, just make it a habit to always check the backseat.  An average of 37 children die in hot cars every year.  So, being forgetful can turn tragic very quickly.  If you need to do something like putting something in your backseat, like your cellphone or purse, you are always checking in the backseat to make sure that you are not leaving anyone back there.  You need to make sure that you take the keys out, don’t let kids have the ability to get inside the car and lock themselves inside to where anything like that could happen.  Just be mindful of how hot it can get inside a car and leave the pets at home.”  The temperature inside a car can be 30 to 40 degrees hotter than outside. In just five minutes, that heat can cause serious health problems for kids and pets.