Shoppers and staff were forced to act when a baby was left in a hot car in a supermarket car park on Thursday (26th July) – the hottest day of the year, with highs of up to 32ºC in Birmingham.
With temperatures set to rise again next week, we want to help raise awareness of just how quickly a car interior can become dangerously hot.
West Midlands Police confirm that they were called at around 5pm to reports of the baby being left in a car in the car park of Asda on Barnes Hill in California, Weoley Castle.
A member of the public had managed to force her way into the car to remove the baby when paramedics and police arrived. Although she was not first on scene, she said she believed the child was in the car for around an hour.
She said she managed to remove the baby and – with help from security – get it shaded and try and fan it cooler before another lady suggested they should sit in her air conditioned car until help arrived.
Paramedics from West Midlands Ambulance service checked the baby over, before taking it to hospital as a precaution.
A West Midlands Police spokeswoman said: “The parent of the baby have been spoken to, and appropriate measures have been put in place to ensure the child is not at any risk.”
Isn’t it okay to leave a child or dog for ‘just a few minutes’?
With hot weather looking set to return next week, please be aware that temperatures can rise very quickly in a car. A parked car can become 20-30 degrees hotter than the outside temperature. 75% of the heating occurs in the first 5 minutes and 90% in the first 15 minutes.
With an outside temperature of just under 32ºC, the temperature inside a car can rise to 45ºC in just 15 minutes.
For a child or animal who can’t remove themselves from the heat, temperatures like these can lead to heatstroke, brain damage, organ failure or even death.
Please don’t leave children or animals alone in a hot car, even for a moment – you may not be able to return as quickly as you planned and ‘just a few minutes’ could be too many.