Leaving a child in a hot car, even for a few minutes, can be deadly, warns doctor

The car door closes with a thunk, then heat starts to build and a deadly countdown begins.

First comessweating, then panting, then theheart raterises andskin becomes flushed.

If children are left in a hot car, even for minutes, those symptoms can lead to heatstroke and worse, according toDr. Chris Sulowski, deputy chief at theMcMaster Children's Hospital'spediatric emergency department.

"Your body's ability to dissipate heat in the oven-like environment, like a hot car, can be overwhelmed," he explained, adding once a person's internal temperature rises to 41 C it doesn't take long for their life to be in danger.

"Itcan very quickly progress to seizures, coma and death."

A hot vehicle has already claimed the life of a Burlington, Ont. boy this spring. On Wednesday, emergency crews were called to a television station on North Service road by a "hysterical man" who found the toddler without vital signs.

• Toddler found dead after police called to parking lot of TV station in Burlington, Ont.

• Community grieves for family of toddler found dead after being left in overheated car

HaltonRegional Police believe the boy is three years old. On Thursday they released the results of an autopsy that listed the preliminary cause of death as hyperthermia, "consistent with the child being left in a vehicle."

A toddler has died after being found in a vehicle in Burlington

6 years ago

Duration 1:00

EMS and police attempted life-saving measures but were unsuccessful

Unfortunately, Sulowski said, children suffering from heat exposure is something hisemergency department sees every year.

This doc lockedhimself in hot car to prove a point

The threat is so real that last July, on a day where the mercury was edging past 30 C, one ofSulowski'scoworkers, Dr. Anthony Crocco, locked himself in aJeep 4x4 on a sweltering dayto show people what a steaming car can do to someone.

The then 44-year-old does triathlons and is healthier than most. In a car where the temperature topped 40 C he lasted all of 15 minutes before bailing and being examined by paramedics who were standing by.

• Hamilton doc sits in sweltering car to show parents the risks to their kids

"The good news ... is I can get myself out of that car at any time," Crocco said after the experiment. "I've got water standing by. I'm being watched by paramedics. But for a child strapped into a car, they don't have the ability to modify their environment."

Anthony Crocco sits in a hot car

7 years ago

Duration 0:18

Dr. Anthony Crocco sits in a hot car

In 2016,Hamilton paramedics responded to 65 heat-related calls, and 17 of them were kids, including two who neededemergency treatment because they were accidentally locked in hot cars.

Last year they between April and September they received 17 more heat calls, saidDavid Thompson, superintendentof programs and development.

Check theback seat before getting out

Hamilton EMS have a message for parents:

"We want to make sure people put something important in the back seat, house keys, a cellphone, groceries, so they have to check it before they get out," said Thomspon.

He added forgetting kids in cars doesn't only happen at the store, work or church it can happen at home too.

"Kids can getinto the car while playing and not realize what's happening," he said. "Lock the car in your driveway and keep the keys somewhere safe."

An average of 37 people diedeach year in the United States because they were locked in a hot car, according to the Canada Safety Council, which addedno statistics are available for Canadian cases.

• How a parent can forget their child in a hot car

Sulowskisaid there's no minimum amount of time a child can be left in a car without the possibilitydeath or damage will be caused by heat.

He's one of many health care professionals who have started to carry a window-breaking tool whenever he goes out.

"Once you see the effects [you know]if you've got to break the glass, you're going to break the glass."