Harrisburg Fire Dept. to demonstrate an emergency rescue from a hot car.
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HARRISBURG —The Harrisburg Fire Department, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, in partnership with KidsandCars.org, the Harrisburg Police and Saline County Sheriff Departments., team up to demonstrate a rescue from a hot car and offer tips to parents and caregivers on how to keep children safe in and around cars during the hottest months, July and August.
The rescue demonstration will take place at 1:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 28 at the Harrisburg Fire Department, 100 S. Main Street.
Every year in the United States, approximately 37 children die from heatstroke inside vehicles. About one-third of these tragedies occur when a child enters a car on their own and is unable to get out.
So far this year, 19 children have died in hot cars in the United States. Recently in Illinois, a four-year-old child was hospitalized after being discovered inside a hot car in McHenry County.
“A child's body temperature rises three to five times faster than an adult's, so the risk of heat stroke, brain damage and even death is much greater for a child left in a hot car,” says Illinois DCFS Director George Sheldon. “Never leave your child alone in a car, even for a minute or two. And make sure empty cars are locked at all times, so young children cannot get in by themselves and get locked in.”
The state of Illinois ranks the 10th highest state in the nation with the most child vehicular heatstroke deaths with a total of 20 fatalities from 1990-2014. Below are life-saving tips for parents and caregivers.
“The temperature rises so rapidly in cars, we ask the public to be aware of your surroundings and if you see a child alone in a car, with the windows rolled up, get involved, call 911 immediately,” says City of Harrisburg Fire Chief John Gunning. “In a big city first responders can arrive quickly but in rural areas it can take longer for us to show-up so preventing this scenario is the key to saving lives.”
"Harrisburg’s fire department works very hard to insure the safety of our citizens young and old. Our educational demonstration will show the effects of leaving a child in a hot car,” says Beth Montfort, Harrisburg Safety Commissioner. “We are fortunate to have DCFS providing educational seminars to our community. As safety Commissioner I urge everyone to attend to see the great things we can do by working together.”
Fact sheets, safety tips, graphics, images, infographics, and more are available to help raise awareness in your community: ?http://www.kidsandcars.org/heatstroke-day.html
DCFS receives, investigates and acts upon a report of child abuse or neglect every five minutes. Tens of thousands of children are safer thanks to those who call our Child Abuse hotline, 1-800-25-ABUSE (252-2873) each year. Working together, we can ensure a safe, loving home and brighter future for every child.
Special thanks to the Harrisburg Fire and Police departments and Opie’s Tow Service for providing the demonstration car.
