• Tweet
• Sumo

• Tweet

Summer heat is now here in Florida including North Florida (Jacksonville, Orange Park, St. Augustine, and Fernandina Beach) in full force even though it is still only the month of May. It was recently reported that the Jacksonville Fire Rescue responded to a situation where a 1 year old child was left in a hot car outside of a local government building. The child was locked in a car with temperature outside exceeding 90 degrees. Fire fighters broke through the window to get the child out of the car. Some estimate that the temperature inside of a vehicle can be 60 or even 80 degrees higher than the outside temperature. Just a few minutes in a vehicle can cause serious personal injury to children, the elderly, and, yes, even pets. It can also lead to an arrest and criminal prosecution in some cases for abuse and neglect. There are two typical reasons for leaving someone in the vehicle unattended: convenience and / or forgetfulness. The dangers presented by a hot car or hot vehicle are too great and should not be ignored or underestimated. An easy reminder system is to put a stuffed animal in the back seat. When the vehicle is parked, move the stuffed animal to the front seat and remove the child and other passengers from the vehicle. See First Coast Experts: Don’t Leave People or Pets in Hot Cars this Summer.