LIHUE — On hot summer days, the inside of a vehicle can get anywhere from 130 to 170 degrees. Within 30 minutes, the car can start getting hot enough for someone to start suffering from heat stroke.
But it’s not just on hot summer days the danger of overheating is present.
“The National Transportation Safety Board says actually 63 degrees can cause heat stroke or can cause pets to suffer because especially if the windows are all closed up, the temperature can get up in the car itself up over 70 to 75 degrees,” said Kauai Fire Department Chief Robert Westerman.
For Hawaii, it’s not just a summer issue, he said.
“It’s warm in Hawaii year-round, so it’s not like the northern interior in the Mainland (where) its cold, so people aren’t thinking about children and adults dying of heat stroke, they can actually freeze,” Westerman said. “But in Hawaii, we have hot temperatures here year-round, so it can happen any day, summer or winter.”
On average, 37 children die from heat-related deaths after being trapped inside vehicles each year. So far in 2018, there have been 21 confirmed hot car deaths, according to advocacy group Kids and Cars Inc.
Since he’s been fire chief, Westerman said there have been no deaths of children, elderly people or animals in hot cars. But yearly, the department receives about 10-12 calls per day from frantic parents who have accidentally locked their keys in their vehicles.
Parents and caregivers need to be vigilant around your children, Westerman warned. Even elderly parents shouldn’t be left in hot cars, he said.
“Don’t think they can just sit in the car and wait for you, because you run into a friend, you start having conversation, and then everything’s going to happen,” he said.
Westerman said parents can help remind themselves they have children in the car by placing their purse, bag or backpack on the vehicle’s back floor. Another way is to place a stuffed animal in the passenger car seat.
If a member of the public sees an unattended child or elderly person in a vehicle, Westerman said they should call 911 immediately.
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Bethany Freudenthal, courts, crime and county reporter, can be reached at 652-7891 or bfreudenthal@thegardenisland.com.
