HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – As summer begins, temperatures will consistently stay high in Christian County, and the heat index will continue to rise. With these conditions, leaving pets, children, and infants in unattended vehicles with no air conditioning can quickly become life threatening.
“Children’s body temperature rises 3 to 5 times faster than an adult. Due to the rapid rising of body temperature, it makes it difficult for a child’s body to cool itself down,” said Payton Rogers with Hopkinsville Fire and EMS. “Once a child’s core body temp reaches 104 they are at risk of heat stroke. Once their body temp reaches 107 the results could be fatal,” he continued.
An SUV of a Christian County Now reporter sat idle when it was 89 degrees outside, and the temperature taken of the interior by a laser thermometer reached 108 degrees after just one hour.
“It only takes 10 minutes for a car to heat up 20 degrees and become deadly, so it’s so important to always ‘look before you lock’ and ask ‘where’s baby’ when traveling with infants, children, or pets in the car during these hot summer months,” added Cloie Rager with the Chrisitan County Health Department.
According to Rager, 50% of cases involving deaths in an overheated car are because a child is forgotten, and 25% is because the child has access to a locked vehicle. 20% of cases are when a child is intentionally left behind. She continued to say it is important for people to never leave a child alone in a vehicle and to make a habit of checking the back seat. Also, by keeping a parked car locked, children cannot access it and get trapped inside.
While Hopkinsville EMS has previously responded to emergencies involving kids in cars in previous summers, they have not encountered it yet this year. Rogers encourages people who see a child in an unsafe situation to call 911 immediately and try to safely remove them from the vehicle into a cool environment.
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