ALBANY, GA (WALB) -
As temperatures begin to rise in South Georgia, emergency officials are sending an important message about the dangers of leaving kids and pets in cars.
"A child should never be left in a car unattended, regardless of the conditions. Even if the AC is running," said Fire Safety Inspector Laurence Cargile.
Albany fire officials want to send a very important message to the community about an issue they said they see too often.
"It's happen all over the country. So we know it's dangerous. We know that there has been confirmed deaths and we know that it leads to life-altering events," explained Cargile.
Life altering events like heat stroke, organ damage or even death.
"It's important to remember that children, their bodies don't heat the same way that adults do. They are naturally warmer and their bodies heat faster than adults," said Cargile.
According to emergency crews, children of all ages and even pets should be left at home altogether.
"Honestly I think they should not be in the car. If you have any errands to run, it's best to leave them at home," said Animal Control Agent Nicholas Streeter.
Within those couple of minutes, a child or pet could suffocate because cars are always hotter than outside temperatures.
"Within two minutes you can go from a cooler 80 degrees to upwards a 100 degrees in temperature and within 30 minutes, you're looking at closer to 120 degrees in a car," said Cargile.
So leaving pets and kids at home could prevent you from getting charged with murder for the death of a child, animal cruelty or inhumane treatment.
"If a child is injured, or worse, experiences death, then that adult or the person responsible for that person that day can face charges," explained Cargile.
Emergency officials said that they have not seen any deadly cases in Albany, however, they want to get this message out before it's too late.
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