With the summer season officially starting this week, officials are reminding people of the dangers that come with increasing temperatures – and how they can potentially be fatal for kids and pets.
10 minutes - that's how long it takes for a child to die inside a hot car, officials from the Florida Highway Patrol, along with organizations including Miami Fire Rescue and the Department of Children and Families, said during a press conference Thursday.
"A body can receive a heat stroke at about 104 degrees, and when your body is at that temperature that's when you start becoming disoriented," said Miami Fire Rescue Capt. Ignatius Carroll. "You start to go unconscious, and eventually you slip into a coma and die."
So far, 12 children have died of heat stroke across the country after being left in a car this year – compared to the 39 children who died in 2016. 54 percent of the heat stroke death cases since 1998 were caused by a child being “forgotten” by their caregiver.
"A lot of these tragedies are very much preventable," Carroll said. "Have something there to remind you that that person is in the vehicle. A lot of these tragedies are very much preventable."
