As the summer heat cranks up in North Carolina, Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey and Safe Kids North Carolina reminds people of the dangers of leaving children in cars by re-launching our statewide summer safety campaign: “Baby, It’s Hot Inside.”
Commissioner Causey, who also serves as the Chair of Safe Kids North Carolina, will kick-off this campaign with a hot-cars demonstration at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 25, 2020 at Burlington Fire Station 4 in Burlington, N.C. This demonstration will show how quickly a vehicle can heat to dangerous, sometimes deadly temperatures.
According to NoHeatstroke.org, five children have already died from heatstroke in hot cars this year including a 22-month-old child in Ellerbe, NC. In fact, 54% of child heatstroke deaths occur because a caregiver has forgotten the child in the car.
“Summers are great in North Carolina but with the warmer temperature comes the very real danger of heatstroke,” Commissioner Causey said. “It only takes 10 minutes for the temperature inside a car to rise to dangerous levels. Even the best of parents or caregivers can make the deadly mistake of leaving their child unattended and that’s why we’re trying to educate people before tragedy occurs.”
Across the country each year, 35 to 40 children die as a result of heat exposure in cars. In 2018, the worst on record, 52 children died when they were left unattended in vehicles and were overcome by heatstroke. This record number of deaths demands the increased education of all parents and caregivers that it is never safe to leave a child unattended in a vehicle. July is the deadliest month for cases of vehicular hyperthermia in children, but the danger spreads from March through November in our area due to the subtropical North Carolina climate.
During the hot cars demonstration, a large digital thermometer will simultaneously display the temperatures inside and outside of a parked vehicle to show how quickly temperatures can reach life-threatening levels.
During the trip to Alamance County, Commissioner Causey will also visit fire stations to listen to firefighters’ concerns and discuss his efforts to support and strengthen the fire service during stops at fire stations.
Here is Commissioner Causey’s public schedule for the day:
9:30 a.m. Station 2 (A.O. Fire Department)
2806 Old North Carolina 87
Elon, N.C. 27244
10:30 a.m. Whitsett Fire Department
809 NC – 61
Whitsett, N.C. 27377
2:00 p.m. Safe Kids Hot Car Demonstration at Burlington Fire Station 4
2748 S. Church Street
Burlington, N.C. 27215
For more safety tips and information about Safe Kids North Carolina, visit www.ncsafekids.org.