By Alesha Capone
Paramedics rescued 79 unattended children from hot cars in Wyndham in a 12-month period.
Ambulance officers responded to the call-outs from September, 2017, to August last year.
In that time, out of all Victoria’s municipalities, Wyndham recorded the second-highest number of calls for children left in cars.
Casey, in the south-east, topped the list with 113 call-outs. Whittlesea was third with 69 call-outs, Greater Geelong next with 60 call-outs and Hume fifth with 60 call-outs.
Elsewhere in the west, paramedics responded to 49 call-outs in Brimbank, 48 in Melton, 29 in Maribyrnong and 24 in Hobsons Bay.
The figures were released recently as the state government, acting chief health officer Brett Sutton, Ambulance Victoria and the Bureau of Meteorology teamed up to launch the “Never Leave Kids in Cars” campaign.
The campaign warns that leaving children alone in cars in warmer weather can place them at risk of heatstroke, dehydration and organ damage.
Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said that the temperature inside a car could double in just minutes in extreme conditions and that a child’s body temperature could rise three to five times faster than the body temperature of an adult.
“Hot cars can kill – even if you’ll only be a couple of minutes, you should never leave kids unattended in cars,” she said.
Dr Sutton said heat exhaustion and heat stroke could affect anyone.
“That is why, as a community, we need to look out for one another and check on your neighbours on hot days,” he said.
