OCR Text |
Show TZ2HZEEHHZ www.magnanewspapers.com Your weekly newspaper volume 98 no. 28 -- Dangerous summer: parents in pets parlted cars cliren, by ANDREW WEEKS Editor Try sitting in an idle car, one parked in a driveway in mid July. Try it in June or even in August. Maybe even in April, May or September. Try it on a sunny day, but remember to leave your windows down just an inch, or maybe two. And stay in your car for at least five minutes, maybe even for 10. Chances are, you'll start to perspire rather quickly. You'll also notice that the air becomes heavy to breathe. Of course, we really don't want you to try this. It's not a good thing for anybody, yet this is exactly what some parents make their children do w hile mom or dad makes a quick run into the supermarket or gas station because, after all, it's just for "a couple of minutes." But according to the Salt Lake Health Valley the interior of Department, be vehicles parked tney suburban, minivan or Toyota - can reach dangerous temperatures within a matter of minutes. "Do not leave kids unattended in any car. Ever. Not even for just a quick run into a gas station," said Kathy Chambers, SLVHD's injury coordinator. prevention "Besides the dangers of just leaving kids alone, they can become ill, or worse, die from heatstroke." Children are more prone to heatstroke than are adults, as are animals. When left in a hot vehicle, a child's core body temperature may increase three to five times faster than that of an adult. Such a condition can cause permanent injury or death. that Statistics show nationwide from 1996 to 2002, more than 175 children - most of them ages three and younger - died from heatstroke in parked vehicles. "Parked vehicles can reach dangerous temperatures within a matter of minutes," Chambers said. For instance, if the outside temperature is 80 degrees the inside of a parked vehicle will likely reach temperatures of 120 degrees Fahrenheit or above w ithin a matter of just a few minutes. Some statistics show that within 10 to 30 minutes temperatures in idle vehicles have reached upwards of 150 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on outside temperatures. Health departments and law enforcement have taken a hard stance on the issue, going so far as removing children from homes if parents jeopardize their kids' safety by leaving them alone in vehicles. Chambers said that people who see kids locked in parked cars should call the police. An officer will come to the scene and wait beside the car until the parent returns, "and then they let them have it," Chambers said. "They will either give them a warning or a ticket, and sometimes the kids are taken away." Chambers suggests that if parents need reminding, they should tie a ribbon around their steering wheel, "much like you do when tying a ribbon around your finger to remind you of something," she said. In short, there is never an excuse to leave a child alone in vehicles. parked Chambers said. The same is true for pets. It is a common July 14, 2005 500 to avoid Beaviii summer's Steel &aftTa1e Valley Health Department and Salt Lake Animal Services are urging parents to avoid leaving dren and dogs inside of hot cars. Besides other dangers, they can suffer or even die from heatstroke. The error to believe that leaving windows partly open will eliminate heat problems. Temma to According Martin, spokeswoman for Salt Lake County Animal Services, that simply is not Better yet, don't take chances by leaving your pet inside a vehicle, even if windows are rolled down. "It's not worth it, it just doesn't work," she said, "and owners are endangering the Martin said the only way for dogs to survive an episode is if their body temperature is lowered "before it's too late," she said, and the first thing is to get the dog out of the hot vehicle. chil- lives of their pets." Martin said dogs can also suffer from heatstroke w hile outside, and that pet owners need to make sure their dogs have lots of cool shade and water. so. "A dog's body temperature is higher than ours, a little below 100 degrees," she said. When dogs get overheated, "their tongue swells and turns darker, they get glazed eyes, their pulse increases, and they suffer dizziness and vomiting. Heatstroke on a dog can happen very, very quickly." Fire destroys local RV store Phone books, copy service available - - Z ,T ' V - - Sjcr h A ' ( ' v V scC The 2005-0- 6 Magna Phone Directories are now available at Copper Printing, home of the Magna Times, 8980 West 2700 South. Be sure to stop by and pick up your copy soon. Copper Printing also offers quick copy services. Black and white or color copies are available. Prevent baseball tragedies baseball If a g blow knocks a to your young athlete's chest, it's not enough to have first aid kit the on the block and sport CPR skills. You need access to an automatic external defibrillator (AED). "Over the past four years over 125 individuals have died due to chest impacts," says Dr. David Janda, author of The Awakening of a Surgeon: A Family Guide to Preventing Sports Injuries "Automatic and Death. external defibrillators would have prevented some of those deaths." An orthopedic surgeon, Janda Dr. directs the fast-flyi- hard-hittin- best-stock- Photo by Marie Jess local fire broke out last week that caused destruction and delayed traffic. stream of water over neara strong smell of rubber by JAIME WINSTON as an 80 businesses, including a estimated by burning Reporterlntern and oil change restaurant ATV's, snowmobiles, station. at behind the fire homes and trailers motor Directly Thursday's A Advance RV Supply drew a lot of attention from commuters trying to get home. The fire started about 7:30 p.m. at the business located at 3500 South and Bangerter Highway. The large black cloud of smoke could be seen for miles. Those closer were hit with were destroyed by the fire. The traffic on Bangerter came to a crawl as firefighters worked to put out the three alarm blaze, while many commuters just pulled over to the side of the road to watch the firefighters at work. One fire truck sprayed a RV Supply store is a large apartment complex; no residents had to be evacuated. By Saturday night, police had a confession from a boy who admitted to playing with a lighter, which started the fire that got out of control. top-not- ch Institute for Preventative His Medicine. Sports research has been published in prestigious journals and he is frequently seen on national news and talk shows, sharing advice. Case in point, a boy in the Chicago suburbs was struck in the chest by a baseball. Because a mom in the crowd had seen Dr. Janda discussing chest impact injuries on the "Oprah Winfrey Show" and learned her local police officers kept AED's in their cars, she was able to make a quick 911 call that saved the boy's life. According to Dr. Janda, if life-savi- your child suffers a similar chest injury, you should immediately call 911, initiate CPR, and deliver a shock to the chest by either a thump to the chest or by using an AED within 4 minutes of the hit. "Automatic external defibrillators save fives," says Dr. Janda. "They should be on every field, and in every gymnasium, hockey rink, and sports complex throughout the country." Get the free report "7 Questions to Ask the Coach or Trainer to Keep Your Student Athlete Safe" or purchase your copy of "The Awakening of a Surgeon" at www.NoInjury.com. 2-- |