Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus, the Lakewood Police Department and EMS teamed up today to demonstrate the dangers of children left in a hot vehicle.

The demonstration, which took place at the Blue Claws stadium, was introduced by Sreedar Raja, the medical Director of MMCSS’s Emergency Department, who made the following statement:

On behalf of Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus, the proud leader of Safe Kids Ocean County, I would like to welcome you here today. Safe Kids New Jersey, led by the Central Jersey Family Health Consortium joins us today, as well as the Lakewood Police Department and the Lakewood BlueClaws – we are truly grateful for your work and the opportunity to work with you all today.

Summer is here and that means temperatures are rising to record highs. It’s important to remember that while these summer days are great for the pool and the beach, they’re not so good for the inside of cars where temperatures can rise to deadly extremes in a very short period of times.

Many people are shocked to learn how hot the inside of a car can actually get. On an 80 degree day, the temperature inside of a car can rise 20 degrees in as little as 10 minutes and keep getting hotter with each passing minute. Even cracking the window doesn’t help. Because of this, heatstroke can happen faster than you think.

A child’s body heats up three to five times faster than an adult’s, making them more susceptible to heatstroke. When a child’s internal temperature reaches 104 degrees, major organs begin to shut down. When that temperature reaches 107 degrees, the child can die.

In the past nineteen years at least 712 children across the United States have died from heatstroke when in a vehicle. The children that have died from vehicular heatstroke ranged in age from 5 days to 14 years. More than half the deaths are children under 2 years of age.

Already this year, twelve children across the country have died because of heatstroke.

It’s heartbreaking and it doesn’t have to happen. These tragedies are 100 percent preventable which is why we’ve joined you here today.

Safe Kids Worldwide encourages drivers to ACT.

A: Avoid heatstroke-related injury and death by never leaving your child alone in a car, not even for a minute. And make sure to keep your car locked when you’re not in it so kids don’t get in on their own.

C: Create reminders by putting something in the back of your car next to your child such as a briefcase, a purse or a cell phone that is needed at your final destination. This is especially important if you’re not following your normal routine. 

T:Take action. If you see a child alone in a car, call 911. Emergency personnel want you to call. They are trained to respond to these situations. One call could save a life.