The Roswell Fire Department is raising awareness on the risks of leaving children, the elderly and pets inside parked vehicles on sweltering hot summer days.
Thirty-six children died in hot cars in 2022, according to the national nonprofit Kidsandcars.org, and hundreds of pets die from heat exhaustion after being left in vehicles every year, the American Veterinary Medical Association reports.
The fire department and its initiative Safe Kids North Fulton demonstrated the danger by setting up a display inside a vehicle Tuesday at Roswell Area Park, before the city’s annual fireworks event.
The display inside the vehicle was placed under direct sunlight, according a fire department statement, and showed the rising temperature in the vehicle.
The internal temperature rose to 133 degrees within 10 minutes and 158 degrees within an hour.
“Our goal is to raise awareness about the life-threatening risks of heatstroke and the lethal consequences of leaving anyone unattended inside a parked vehicle,” Fire Chief Joe Pennino said. “The internal temperature of a vehicle can reach deadly levels within minutes, putting lives at serious risk. We hope this experiment encourages everyone to take preventive measures and prioritize safety during the summer.”
Kidsandcars.org data shows that 1,050 children have died in hot vehicles since 1990. More than half of those children were left unknowingly in the car.
Nationally, there have been nine incidents of children dying after they were left in vehicles so far in 2023, according to the website.
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