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'Slow Yourself Down': Wichita Fire Chief Warns Of Dangers Of Leaving Kids, Pets In Cars

Jim Crocker
/
flickr Creative Commons

As temperatures rise this summer, the Wichita Fire Department is warning people not to leave kids or pets in hot cars.

Even on mild days, the temperature inside of a car can climb to dangerous levels.

Wichita Fire Chief Ron Blackwell says every year, his team has to respond to reports of kids or pets being left in cars—sometimes it’s by accident, sometimes a parent just isn’t aware of the danger.

“Slow yourself down," Blackwell says. "Think about your vehicle. Just as surely as you’d lock those doors, think about what you may be leaving in that car, and anything that is live is at significant risk in these high-heat conditions.”

Earlier this month, a young girl was taken to the hospital in critical condition after being found in car. The temperature outside was 88 degrees; research says it can get up to 135 degrees inside a car in just an hour.

He says if you do see a child or a pet left in a car, it’s worth making a 911 call.

“That call should be made," he says, "and our responders have the tools and equipment to provide some relief.”

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Follow Nadya Faulx on Twitter @NadyaFaulx.

To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.

Nadya Faulx is KMUW's Digital News Editor and Reporter, which means she splits her time between working on-air and working online, managing news on KMUW.org, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. She joined KMUW in 2015 after working for a newspaper in western North Dakota. Before that she was a diversity intern at NPR in Washington, D.C.