by California Casualty | Auto Insurance Info |
As summer weather heats up, it’s time to think about child safety and cars. While many think it could never happen to their family, since 1998 more than 630 children have died from being left in a hot vehicle, 30 of those in 2014.
How could someone leave a child in a car in when the weather turns warm? Often, it’s a parent out of their normal routine tasked with taking a child to daycare or someone in a rush who forgot a sleeping infant in the back seat.
A National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) study concluded that nearly half of the infants and children who died from being left in a vehicle were forgotten by their parent or caretaker. In another study, 25 percent of mothers interviewed admitted to leaving infants and toddlers in motor vehicles, and only one-third of those would leave windows half or fully opened. In other instances, young children have climbed into unlocked cars and were unable to get out as the sun turned them into ovens.
Here’s the danger – research shows that cars parked in direct sunlight, even when outside temperatures are in the 60s, can heat up to over 110 degrees. On an 80 degree day the heat can surpass 130 degrees. That would mean a child left inside could reach life-threatening levels in just ten minutes. This video dramatization shows how a simple shopping trip might turn into a disaster on a sunny day.
The peril of overheated vehicles also applies to our pets. Animal experts say 15 minutes in a car on a summer day can be deadly, even if the windows are rolled down. It’s feared that hundreds of pets die or suffer permanent damage each year from overheating in a vehicle.
The NHTSA has a checklist for parents and caregivers to prevent heatstroke tragedies:
- Never leave a child or pet unattended in a vehicle – even if the windows are partially open
- Always check back seats before locking or walking away
- Use reminders that a child is in a vehicle: place a purse or briefcase in the back seat, write a note or put a stuffed toy in the passenger seat or in the drivers view to indicate a child is in the car seatHot
- Ask the childcare provider to call if the child doesn’t show up as expected
- Teach children that vehicles are not places to play and store keys out of their reach
If you see children or pets left in a vehicle:
- Call 9-1-1 immediately
- Don’t wait more than a few minutes for the driver to return
- If the child is unresponsive or listless get them out of the car and spray them with cool water
- Stay with the child until the driver returns or medical help arrives
California Casualty urges all parents and caregivers to join the “Where’s Baby – Look Before You Lock” campaign. You can find a link to other safety information including Safe Kids USA at our resource page, www.calcas.com/resources.
Sources for this article:
https://www.safercar.gov/parents/InandAroundtheCar/heatstroke.htm
https://noheatstroke.org/
https://mydogiscool.com/newsroom/learn-more/
https://www.peta.org/issues/companion-animal-issues/cruel-practices/dog-hot-car/
https://pediatrics.about.com/od/safety/a/05_hot_cars.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNDWN8KDVSM
by California Casualty | Nominate a Hero |
She’s pretty, still dresses up as a princess but can also handle the stress of a lifesaving rescue or fire. Meet Katelin L., captain of a Tennessee volunteer fire company and substitute teacher. She also portrays Disney princess Elsa for children’s birthday parties and community events. Katelin finds time to “do it all” because she always gives 110 percent. Katelin makes such a positive impact in her community that she was named the February Hero of the Month in California Casualty’s Nominate A Hero program.
California Casualty continues to be heartened by the remarkable men and women who have been honored in the Nominate A Hero program. Each month, a well deserving person receives a $250 gift card and their place on the “Wall of Heroes.” They remind us that heroes come from many different professions and towns across the United States. Instead of masks and capes they wear street clothes and the uniforms of their trade. They are people who put helping others ahead of themselves and their dedication and caring inspires others.
Who are these heroes?
Joe B. is a Southern California firefighter. He volunteered for years before going full-time with the Los Angeles County Fire Department. He worked with San Diego firefighters saving numerous homes and lives during one of the area’s worst wildfire seasons. He sustained injuries during the valiant effort and is now a fire inspector. He was the Hero of the Month for June.
Thomas K. finds new ways to reach students at the Georgia middle school where he teaches. Thomas has taken it upon himself to mentor a special group of 7th graders, giving them life-skills that will help them in the future. Thomas takes them to dinner to teach etiquette techniques, helps the students learn how to correctly put on a tie and has purchased suits for students who have to attend formal functions. “I just do it as my contribution to make our society a better place,” he said. Thomas was May’s Hero of the Month.
April’s Hero was Kentucky State Trooper Todd H., honored for the many ways he gives back to his community. He’s been a judo coach and helped a friend after his house was robbed. Todd not only advised the homeowner on how to preserve the crime scene, but spent over 70 hours of his personal time to investigate and solve the case.
Leslyn W. is a healer. She is known as the person who will stop and give care to a person or a small animal in need. She’s a nurse at an Arizona hospital. She heard a two year old crying during her shift at the intensive care unit. The child had been burned after pulling a pot of coffee from the stove. Even though he wasn’t her patient, she held and rocked him to sleep. Away from the hospital, Leslyn is known for her Wednesday potlucks for friends and family and for keeping track of everyone’s birthday. She also finds time to volunteer at the ARC as a yoga teacher for adults with Down syndrome and autism. She also volunteers at Camp Courage for kids who have survived burns. Leslyn was the March Hero of the Month.
California Casualty’s Social Media Manager Scott Randolph said, “We felt compelled to pass these stories of heroism along and honor the men and women who do extraordinary things every day. We hope more people will show their appreciation for those who are giving so much with the Nominate A Hero program.”
As we paused to celebrate the 4th of July, California Casualty hopes to honor more heroes. If you know a deserving firefighter, nurse, educator, law enforcement officer or first responder working hard to make their community better, share their story at https://nominatemyhero.com, and show the world good men and women do exist.
Your hero could be named the Hero of the Month and receive a $250 gift card and their place on the Wall of Heroes.
It’s just another way California Casualty lives up to the promise that “We protect American heroes.”
by California Casualty | Firefighters |
Tim Casey describes himself as, “a retired firefighter/paramedic, author, lecturer, public speaker and an alcoholic. As a public servant for more than 30 years, I know the hero business from the inside out, and I also know the costs of that profession; the human cost. My passion is trying to help save the lives of lifesavers. Firefighters are dying in record numbers, not on the job but by their own hands. Clinicians and therapists, although well intentioned, do not know how to help emergency workers and I want to help them understand us, and maybe save some lives along the way.
I became a professional firefighter/paramedic at 19 years of age and proceeded to work in that field for the next 31 years. Best job I ever had, the worst job I ever had, and it spanned four decades from 1979 until I retired in 2009. I delivered nine babies over those years, helped save hundreds of lives, and fought enough fire to keep me content into my golden years.
I became a firefighter quite by accident. Right out of high school, I went to work at the largest car dealership in my hometown. Things were going along well until the day I gave my unsolicited opinion to the general manager of the store. He admired the frankness of what I had to say but not the content of my statement.
Later that same day I called my father to tell him the news of my recent separation from work and to ask if he might be aware of any job openings. As in turned out he did know someone was hiring. The chief of a small fire department on the outskirts of town was looking for a firefighter. The next day I interviewed for the position and the day after that I was a fireman.
Looking back, I was too young, inexperienced, and naive to have made that decision; I had no idea of what was to come. I had stumbled into the coolest jobs any man could have. Overnight I went from being a zero to being a hero, an American icon, a firefighter.
I quite literally grew up in fire stations; I started as a teenager, I was married and divorced twice while I was a firefighter, I had three children, became an alcoholic, and survived a suicide attempt over those years. Throughout my entire adult life I was always part of a team and had tremendous resources available to me for all my decision-making – my fellow firefighters were more than willing to help me, especially the older guys who got a vicarious thrill out of hearing about my adventures.
The belief that we as firefighters are a brotherhood and sisterhood is deeply ingrained in our psyches from the outset of our career. No one outside our culture has any grasp on what it is to be a firefighter. People can imagine, but they can only guess how they might feel if they were confronted with the realities of our job.
However, their best guesses are based on film, TV, or literature; they are just that, a guess. If you have never walked in our boots, never walked through fire, death, and disaster, then you will never get it, you will never understand how we feel about each other.
That culture is one of the biggest problems facing the fire service, the notion that being a firefighter prevents us from being normal feeling people, from having emotions, from the damage our experiences, burden us with. It has to be abandoned, or we will suffer more and more tragedies like a result of “pulling on our big boy pants.”
We must learn to care for our own with the same vigor we extend to our customers. We must protect our people from these horrors, care for each other and our families, or we will attend more funerals and us will suffer the loss of great people because of pride, toughness, and bravado. I share my personal story of alcoholism and suicide so that when another firefighter is suffering and feeling they are alone in their struggle, they know they are not alone – that at least one other firefighter has stood in their shoes and made it out of the darkness. It’s me; I have, and I am willing to help in anyway I can.
Below are links to some valuable resources for a starting point.
4-steps-to-help-a-mentally-distressed-firefighter
Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance
Initiative 13
