Summer heat warning for anyone with children or pets from Security Specialists

With record-breaking heat in many areas of the country this summer, small children and pets are especially vulnerable to hot car deaths.  The dog days of summer are now here and as the temperatures rise, it’s important to remember that leaving children or pets alone in a car can lead to tragedy and hot car deaths from heatstroke. To make sure a hot car death tragedy doesn’t happen to your family, here are 13 helpful tips to help keep your kids and pets safe:

1. Never, ever leave a child or pet alone in a parked car, even with the windows cracked open or the air conditioning on. A child’s body temperature can rise three to five times faster than an adult’s bod temperature. Remember, a core body temperature of 107 degrees is lethal.
2. Teach children not to play in, on, or around cars.
3. Keep the trunk of your car locked at all times, especially when parked in the driveway or near the home.
4. Keep the rear fold-down seats closed to help prevent kids and pets from getting into the trunk from inside the car.
5. When traveling with children or pets always look in both the front and back of a vehicle before locking the door and walking away.
6. If at all possible, do not run errands when your pet is in the vehicle! Take them home first and then go back out if you have stops to make. Or leave your pet at home in the first place.
7. If your child or family pet gets locked inside a car, get them out and dial 9-1-1 or your local emergency number immediately.
8. When restraining children in a car that has been parked in the heat, check to make sure seating surfaces and equipment (car seats and seat belt buckles) aren’t excessively hot.
9. Use a light covering to shade the seat of your parked car. Consider using windshield shades in front and back windows.
10. Put car keys out of children’s reach and sight.
11. Remember, heatstroke can occur in temperatures as low as 57 degrees. On an 80-degree day, temperatures inside a vehicle can reach deadly levels in just 10 minutes.
12. If transporting your child to school or activities is part of your normal routine, make sure you always double-check the backseat of your car before leaving it. Try putting a purse or mobile phone next to the child’s seat so that you’ll always remember.
13. Make it a regular practice to call your spouse, significant other or caregiver to confirm you’ve dropped your child off.

Remember: Kids, Pets and Hot Cars are a Deadly Combination. Always Look Before You Lock!