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Hoping To Avoid Hot Car Deaths, Health Officials Talk Importance Of Heat Safety

A child is left alone in her car seat
Florida Department of Children and Families Youtube

With more children out of school during the Summer months, there also tends to be an uptick in kids left in hot cars. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the temperature inside of a car can rise almost 20 degrees. And, Leon County Health Department spokesman Chris Tittel says that’s just within the first 10 minutes with a window cracked open.

“So, leaving babies and children and pets in cars is a big no-no in the Summer season. You want to make sure you take the babies, the children, and the pets out of the car in order to protect them from suffering from heatstroke. That’s a condition, when the body is not able to cool itself quickly enough and the body temperature raises itself to dangerous levels.”

In infants and pets in particular, Tittel says heatstroke can be very dangerous because their bodies can heat up three to five times faster than an adult’s body. One of the main reasons children get left in cars is because their routine changes and the parents or caregiver forgets. Florida is one of the top states in the nation for hot car deaths involving kids.

For more news updates, follow Sascha Cordner on Twitter: @SaschaCordner.

Sascha Cordner has more than ten years of public radio experience. It includes working at NPR member station WUFT-FM in Gainesville for several years. She's worked in both radio and TV, serving in various capacities as a reporter, producer and anchor. She's also a graduate of the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in telecommunications. She is the recipient of 15 awards from the Associated Press, Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), and Edward R. Murrow. Her award-winning stories include her coverage on the infamous “Dozier School for Boys” and a feature titled "Male Breast Cancer: Lost in the Sea of Pink." Currently, Sascha serves as the host and producer of local and state news content for the afternoon news program "All Things Considered" at WFSU. Sascha primarily covers criminal justice and social services issues. When she's not reporting, Sascha likes catching up on her favorite TV shows, singing and reading. Follow Sascha Cordner on Twitter:@SaschaCordner.