As extreme heat temperatures spread across North Carolina, state Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey, who also chairs Safe Kids NC, held an event Thursday in Raleigh to show residents how dangerous it is to leave kids and pets inside hot cars. Safe Kids prepares demonstrations across North Carolina to prevent injuries and deaths from happening to children.
At Thursday’s event, s’mores were baked on the dashboard inside of a hot car as an example of what could happen to a child. The outside temperature was 90 degrees, while the inside of the vehicle was 127 degrees. Causey said if someone sees a child or pet inside a vehicle, they should contact law enforcement.
“You want to immediately call 911 and report that,” he said. “You know, the first thing in our act would be to avoid leaving kids or pets in locked vehicles or hot cars, and it doesn't have to be 90 degrees. We've had people die when it's been much cooler.”
Alex Wilkins, a community risk reduction specialist with the State Fire Marshal's Office and a Safe Kids representative, said being left inside a car at a certain temperature can result in death.
“Last year, we had 33 [child deaths in the U.S.], and of those 33, actually four of those were in North Carolina alone,” he said. “So, we do have a problem here and like the commissioner spoke on, it's not just a summer problem, it's year-round that we have these hot car deaths.”
While there are no child deaths so far this year in North Carolina, Commissioner Causey is urging the public to always check the back seat of a car before getting out because accidental hot car deaths are preventable. For more tips, visit ncdoi.gov.