ROANOKE, Va. – With feels-like temperatures close to 100 degrees Wednesday, first responders are taking time to remind people of the dangers this can pose, especially when it comes to cars.
The temperature inside a car can rise as much as 20 degrees in 10 minutes. So on days when it’s really hot out, being left in a car could mean disaster.
“We all think it's never going to happen to us but it can happen -- really, really easily,” Carilion Children's Safe Kids Coordinator Jill Lucas-Drakeford said.
According to KidsAndCars.org, an average of 37 kids die every year from being trapped inside hot cars. So far this year, 19 have died.
“Children are especially at risk because they heat up thee to five times faster than what we do as adults and they have a really hard time cooling themselves off,” Lucas-Drakeford said.
Parking in the shade or rolling the windows down won't make much of a difference.
“When the sun comes in, it kind of makes that greenhouse effect and so the interior of the vehicle can heat up really quickly,” Lucas-Drakeford said.
So what can someone do if they see a child in a hot car?
“Call 911 immediately and then do what you need to do to get that child out of a car,” Lucas-Drakeford said.
Virginia's good Samaritan law means someone can break into a hot car to save a child and not face charges.
“We just don't know how long that child has been in there and we don't want to wait around for the parent or go back into the store and try to figure out,” Roanoke Fire-EMS Community Risk Reduction Specialist Tiffany Bradbury said.
Experts say everyone can help to make sure no more children die in hot cars.
“You're at the mall and you're walking through (the) parking lot; we are going to a doctor’s appointment... I know it seems kind of weird kind of like you're peeking in people's cars, but it's called being vigilant, making sure that we're keeping each other safe,” Bradbury said.
The majority of cases involving kids left in hot cars are accidental. Experts have lots of tips for parents to prevent them from forgetting their kids in the car. Click here to see those.