Never leave children in vehicles unattended Published June 29, 2012 By Joyce Atlee Family Advocacy Program TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- As the temperature rises, so does the risk of young children dying in hot vehicles. Last year in the U.S., 33 young children -- including two in Oklahoma -- suffered horrendous deaths after trapping themselves or being forgotten in vehicles by their parents or caregivers. Since 1998, more than 530 U.S. children have waited helplessly for someone to rescue them from scorching vehicles. Waited, alone and trapped, as they sweated and dehydrated, their core body temperature soaring to lethal heights; finally losing consciousness, before death released them from their unbearable suffering. Never leave a child in a car unattended, even for a minute. Even in mild temperatures, a car becomes an oven very quickly. When the temperature outside is 75 degrees, it only takes 10 minutes for the interior of a vehicle to heat up to 94 degrees. If the thermometer reads 85, a 20-minute errand can send the car's inside temperature soaring to 114 degrees. There is no safe time to leave a child alone in a vehicle. According to a study by Jan Null, a certified consulting meteorologist for the San Francisco State University Department of Geosciences, "Heatstroke occurs when the body temperature reaches 104° F and a body temperature of 107° is considered lethal. And because of the smaller body mass and lessened ability for their bodies to cool themselves, children are particularly vulnerable." (More information on Ms. Null's study can be found online at http://ggweather.com/heat/.) A study of 494 hyperthermia deaths showed that 52 percent of these young victims were forgotten in the vehicle, while 30 percent of victims trapped themselves, unknowingly playing a deadly game, hiding in the trunk or the vehicle interior. Around 17 percent of the fatalities had been deliberately left alone in the vehicle. One father whose own memory lapse caused his beloved son, Mikey, to die in the backseat, offered safety tips to help other parents. "I accept 100 percent of the blame for this tragic accident, but I also know there are simple techniques that might help other families avoid such tragedy," he said. "Please, please develop in your family a basic safety technique to remind yourselves that a baby is in the car seat. Put a diaper bag in the front seat every time your baby is in the car. Or put your purse, briefcase, wallet or cellphone in the back seat where you will have to retrieve it before leaving the car. Or call your spouse every morning the minute you arrive at the day care center (with follow up from your spouse if you haven't called by a certain time). Discuss the issue right now with your spouse, and come up with a basic safety plan that you will use every time." (A good memory-jogger for active duty folks would be to place your uniform hat next to the baby.) Summer heat is not the only potential killer of children in vehicles. A few years ago, a young Air Force father deployed overseas received a phone call no parent ever wants to get -- telling him his four-year-old daughter had died after being left alone in a car for just a few minutes. Her mother and a friend had parked briefly, leaving a two-year-old and two four-year-olds in the car alone. When the women heard screaming, they ran outside and found the four-year-old girl's neck trapped by the power window. Attempts to revive the child were unsuccessful and she died at the local hospital. Oklahoma is one of the states which have laws against leaving a child unattended in a vehicle. If you see a young child alone in a car, immediately call Security Forces at 734-3737 or 911. Incidents should also be referred to the Family Advocacy Program, 734-4390, as child neglect.