Parents are being put on notice after Ambulance Victoria revealed it received 47 reports of children being left in locked cars in Brimbank and the north-west in the year to August.
Caroline Springs had the area’s highest number of calls (9), followed by Taylors Lakes (7) and St Albans (6).
Frankston had Victoria’s highest number of callouts (25). There were more than 1100 reports statewide.
Delahey ambulance station team manager Emily Bassett said the figures were not surprising.
“We get this type of incident numerous times,” she said.
“We attended one case [last Thursday] where two children were left in a car at Watergardens Town Centre.
“We attended another in Airport West a few months ago where three kids were left in a car while the mother went into the TAB.
‘‘They were distraught and upset, luckily a passerby called it in. They had to go to hospital for observation.’’
Ms Bassett said leaving children in a car could be deadly.
‘‘A few minutes can be detrimental to a child’s health as they can’t regulate their own temperature,’’ she said.
‘‘Parents need to understand it’s not OK to pop into a shop for five minutes with children in a car, and to be careful with their car keys.”
Ambulance Victoria group manager Brett Drummond said it didn’t have to be a hot day for a car to heat up quickly.
“Tests by Ambulance Victoria found that even on a 29-degree day, the inside of a car can reach 44 degrees within 10 minutes and 60 degrees within 20 minutes.’’
