Arizona summers can not only be hot, they can be scorching.  According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, nearly 800 people a year are admitted to hospitals because of heat related illnesses and approximately 1500 weather related deaths from exposure to heat have occurred in Arizona from 1992 to 2009.

The most vulnerable to heat related illnesses or heatstroke are children. Heatstroke is the leading cause of non-crash, vehicle-related deaths for children.  Young children are at risk because their bodies heat up three to five times faster than an adult’s body.  Although parents and caregivers are warned every year to check and make sure all children have exited the car, tragically an infant or young child is left behind and suffers injury or death from heatstroke.

The top tips to reduce the number of deaths from heatstroke can be remembered by the word “ACT”.

A:  Avoid heatstroke-related injury and death by never leaving your child alone in a car, not even for a few minutes.  Always keep your car locked when you are not in it so children cannot get in on their own.

C:  Create reminders by placing something in the back of your car next to your child – a purse, computer, cell phone – that will be needed at your final destination.  This tip becomes more important when you are not following your usual routine.

T:  Take action.  If you do come upon a child alone in a car, call 911 immediately.  Emergency personnel want you to call, and are trained to respond to these situations.  Your call could save a life.

To prevent heatstroke in the state, the Arizona Department of Health Services has developed a “Heat Emergency Response Plan” and a bilingual “Heat Brochure”.  The “Heat Relief Network” offers tips for staying safe in the heat and also shows hydration and collection maps for places to get water and donate water around Maricopa County.

To find out more information regarding extreme heat warnings or to sign up for email alerts, check out the Extreme Weather and Public Health homepage.