As Maine Enters Heat Wave This Week, Watch For Kids/Pets In Hot Cars

The National Weather Service is forecasting highs in the 80s and 90s in Eastern Maine for the rest of this week.

With such drastic spikes in temperature on the horizon, many safety agencies are reminding folks to be mindful of the heat, especially when it comes to kids and pets in vehicles.

Just last week, a therapy dog who had been working with local dispatchers in Bangor died in the back of a car he had been kept in, when the vehicle shut off during the heat of the day.

According to ASPCA.org, it can take just a matter of minutes for the temperature to rise to a deadly level on a hot day, enough to cause heat stroke to a pet inside. And the results of forgetting Fido in a hot car could translate into legal action in some parts of the U.S.

"As of May 2018, 28 states have laws concerning companion animals left unattended in parked vehicles under dangerous conditions, such as intense weather conditions. Some of these laws involve legal action against the vehicle owner, while other laws provide immunity to those who may use forcible means, such as smashing a window, to rescue a vulnerable animal in a car."

Choosing to leave a pet at home on a hot day is a pretty easy decision. But when it comes to children, things are not that simple. Parents have to transport their kids places, and traveling in a vehicle is the main means of transportation for most people.

These days, with a culture of overworked and distracted people, it's not hard to see how something like forgetting a sleeping baby in the back seat of a car could easily happen.

But the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety wants to make sure that it doesn't, and is spreading the word on why the risks of such a mistake could be deadly.

The Maine safety agency is asking people to remember to do three important things to help prevent heat stroke in kids in a hot car: Stop. Look. Lock.

According to Erica Davis of the Maine Bureau of Highway Safety, toddlers and young children are the most at risk of being accidentally left in hot cars.

"Since 1998, when safety advocates first began tracking, vehicular heatstroke has killed more than 965 children. Each death was preventable. More than half (52.6%) of these tragedies occur when a child is 'forgotten' by a parent or caregiver and left in a hot car. A busy parent or caregiver may unintentionally forget that a quiet or sleeping child is in the back of the vehicle. "

The National Weather Service says that even on a 70-degree day, the temperature on the inside of a vehicle can rise to dangerous levels in as little as a few minutes if left in the sun

"Each year, dozens of children and untold numbers of pets left in parked vehicles die from hyperthermia, which occurs when the body absorbs more heat than it can handle... Studies have shown that the temperature inside a parked vehicle can rapidly rise to a dangerous level for children, pets, and even adults. Leaving the windows slightly open does not significantly decrease the heating rate. The younger the child, the more severe the effects because their bodies have not developed the ability to efficiently regulate their internal temperature."

Davis says another risk parents and caregivers should be aware of is that children have also been known to slip back into a hot vehicle undetected if it's not locked up properly once they've been removed from it.

That's a potentially deadly scenario. If everyone who transports children remembers to "Stop, Look & Lock" once they park, it could prevent such instances from occurring.