Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas –
On a hot day, no one would want to spend their time inside a parked vehicle where the temperature can reach more than 100 degrees, making it feel like an oven. Yet each year in the U.S., an average of 38 children die from heat-related deaths after being left in a vehicle, according to http://KidsAndCars.org, a non-profit organization that works to improve the safety of children in vehicles.
In addition, the American Veterinary Medical Association said that hundreds of pets die each year from heat exhaustion after being locked in a vehicle.
Children and pets should not be left in a hot vehicle under any circumstances, even for a short period of time, said Marvin Joyce, 502nd Air Base Wing occupational health and safety specialist at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph.
"Even parents who leave the windows cracked to go into the store for a few minutes don't realize what could occur or the dangers they are exposing their children to," Joyce said. "They don't realize how fast vehicles can heat up and become death traps."
A vehicle can heat up rapidly. According to a test conducted by Consumer Reports, on an 80-degree day the temperature in a vehicle can rise to 110 degrees in just eight minutes.
Joyce said children and pets could get heat stroke or heat exhaustion by being trapped in a vehicle.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said heat stroke can occur when the body temperature reaches 104 degrees, and that a body temperature of 107 degrees could lead to death.
Also, according to the NHTSA, children are at a higher risk than adults of dying from heat stroke because their temperatures increase three to five times faster than that of an adult's.
People who notice a child or pet in distress in a vehicle should call the base authorities at 652-5700 or 5709, said Tech Sgt. Ossian Satterwhite, 902nd Security Forces Squadron law enforcement superintendent at JBSA-Randolph. Call 911 in cases of emergency off base.
Once authorities have been called out, Satterwhite said the caller should stay on the line with the dispatcher and provide vehicle information, such as license plate number and make and model of vehicle so the vehicle owner can be located.
Base authorities respond to numerous calls throughout the year of children and pets being locked in vehicles, said Staff Sgt. Larry Holmes, 902nd SFS NCO in charge of police services at JBSA-Randolph.
Holmes said the 902nd SFS has a device that allows officers to unlock a vehicle door to get the child or pet out and then officers find the vehicle driver.
"Safety comes before your own personal convenience," Holmes said. "There's never an excuse for leaving your child or pet in the car."
Joyce said other reasons children are left in vehicles is because parents accidentally lock themselves out, which occurs in 40 percent of the cases. Parents also forget that their children are in the vehicle with them.
There are ways parents can remind themselves they have their children in the vehicle, he said. This can include writing a note and putting it where they can see it in the vehicle; placing a purse, briefcase or anything else they need in the back seat so that they can check the backseat when they leave the vehicle or keeping an object in the child's car seat, such as a stuffed toy, where it can be noticed when the parent is leaving the vehicle.
If a parent is dropping off a child at a daycare center for the first time, Joyce said a good idea is to have the spouse call the driver to make sure the child was dropped off, or have the child care provider call the parent if the child doesn't show up.
In Texas, Satterwhite said a parent who intentionally leaves their child alone in a vehicle could be charged with child neglect.
Pets also can't withstand high temperatures and the exposure can cause brain or organ damage to pets or death from heat stroke or suffocation.
Joyce said people who notice a pet in distress in a vehicle should write down a description of the pet, the vehicle and license plate number and ask the business to make a public announcement to locate the owner.
If the pet owner can't be found, call police or animal control and provide a description of the pet, the vehicle and license plate number and explain the situation, Joyce said. The caller should remain on the scene in order to guide the animal control or law enforcement officer to the pet.
Joyce discouraged engaging with the pet owner to avoid any possible altercations.
Under Texas law, a pet owner who leaves their pet in a parked vehicle could be charged with cruelty.
For more information, call the JBSA-Randolph Safety Office at 652-1842.