Child Locked in Car at Azalea Square

A young mother needed firefighters to help get her small son out of a locked car last week. 

Firefighters arrived at the Target parking lot at Azalea Square on the afternoon of June 11 to find the child had been accidentally locked in a Chevrolet Tahoe.

When first responders couldn't get into the car, they received approval from the child's mother to force their way in. The child was rescued, unharmed.

The swift response from the firefighters is an important reminder of the danger of children or pets left in a hot car this summer.

Summerville Fire Chief Richard Waring stressed that even cracked windows can't provide enough circulation to prevent a child or pet from succumbing to the intense conditions.

"The heat gets up there pretty quick," Waring said. "It's unbearable for everything."

Waring said if a child or an animal is witnessed inside a locked vehicle and the vehicle's owner cannot be found, then citizens should call 911 for immediate assistance.