Dramatic hot car rescues caught on body cam
A pair of recent rescues in Atlanta, Georgia were caught on police officers' body cameras.
Earlier this month, on July 10, field training officer Ronald Stoddard rushed to a shopping centre parking lot, where a frantic mother had accidentally locked her 7-month-old daughter inside a hot SUV.
"I called right away," the distressed mother can be heard saying on video.
"I didn't know what to do - I didn't have anything to break the window."
The call came about a week after another officer, Michael Dorsey, was called to rescue a 12-year-old boy who accidentally locked himself inside a truck.
"Last year was a record-setting year with 52 children who died due to being left in a hot vehicle," (Dr. Maneesha Agarwal of the Children's Healthcare hospital of Atlanta told CNN.
So far, there have been no reported deaths in Georgia, but an average of 37 kids die each year in hot cars across the U.S., CNN reports.
With more than two months left in the summer, doctors and first responders are reminding the public to be vigilant.
NEVER SAFE TO LEAVE A CHILD OR A PET UNATTENDED IN A HOT CAR
When the temperature is 26 degrees Celsius outside, it can climb to 32 degrees inside a car that's parked in the shade, and 71 degrees if the car is parked in the sun, within minutes.
Officials say there is no acceptable amount of time to leave a child unattended in a hot car, even with the windows down.
Children and pets are at a higher risk of heat-related illness because they are not able to regulate and cool their body temperature as efficiently as an adult.
