RCMP have launched an investigation after a baby who was left for hours in a vehicle in a busy neighborhood in Burnaby, B.C., died despite efforts to resuscitate him. “We want to be thorough. The infant deserves that,” Chief Superintendent Deanne Burleigh, officer in charge of the Burnaby RCMP detachment, told a news conference on Friday. “We speak for the victim.” A day earlier, Mounties responded at 5:45 p.m. to a 911 call about an unconscious baby in a vehicle parked in an area of Burnaby, which is east of Vancouver, that includes a park, apartment buildings and businesses. The temperature was about 20 degrees in a spell of unusually warm weather. Story continues below advertisement The child, aged 16 months, was taken to hospital. Police disclosed the incident on Friday. In a statement, the RCMP said officers found the baby’s father in the area and that both parents are co-operating in the investigation. The superintendent said police can say only that the child was in the car for “several hours,” and investigators are gathering evidence to determine a more precise timeline. Victim services workers have been called in to help the family, who are also being attended to by friends and relatives, Supt. Burleigh said. “I can’t imagine how the parents are coping. As a parent myself, I can’t imagine how I would cope,” she said. She called the incident a heartbreaking tragedy. Story continues below advertisement “It’s horrible. There’s no words to describe what anybody would be feeling right now, any of the first responders who attended, anybody at the hospital, any of the family members.” Supt. Burleigh reminded parents that children must be the focus of adults caring for them until they are put into the care of another adult. “It’s about not leaving children at any point unattended in a vehicle," she said. "Make sure you’ve delivered them where they need to be delivered. We’re [in] a heat wave right now. Please don’t leave your children unattended in a car, [at] any age.” Supt. Burleigh said no one has been arrested. “At the moment, it’s all about interviews. We’re interviewing witnesses, families, neighborhood and anybody in the area,” she said. “We will be as efficient and quick as we can, but we want to cover all our bases and make sure the investigation is thorough.” The BC Coroners Service, which looks into all child deaths in the province, has also launched an investigation. Story continues below advertisement Andy Watson of the service said in an e-mail exchange that while police have a fault-finding role to see if criminality is involved, the service may make recommendations on how to prevent deaths in similar circumstances. Mr. Watson said he was not aware of any previous deaths in B.C. involving a child left unattended in a vehicle. In a statement on its website, the Canada Safety Council says an average of 37 deaths involving children left in vehicles occur in the United States each year, but no statistics are available for Canadian cases. The council statement says children can be left in a car unintentionally, “forgotten in a moment of absent-mindedness” or trapped after playing unsupervised in an unlocked vehicle. The council suggests parents make a habit of placing their cellphone, purse or wallet close to the child seat so they always see the child before they leave the vehicle.<doc-sep>Send this page to someone via email A 16-month-old boy is dead after being left in a hot car in Burnaby on Thursday. According to Acting Burnaby Fire Chief Dave Younger, firefighters were called to the 5600-block of Inman Avenue around 5:20 p.m., to reports of child locked in a vehicle. Story continues below advertisement Burnaby RCMP says the child was unconscious when first responders arrived. Sources tell Global News the boy was left in the vehicle for nine hours. According to police, the boy’s father was located at the scene, and both parents are cooperating with the investigation. WATCH: Burnaby RCMP hold update after toddler dies in hot car 0:53 Burnaby RCMP hold update after toddler dies in hot car Burnaby RCMP hold update after toddler dies in hot car – May 10, 2019 “It’s absolutely heartbreaking, it’s a tragedy, it has ripple effects throughout the community,” said Chief Supt. Deanne Burleigh, Officer in Charge of the Burnaby RCMP. Burleigh said police were in the very early stages of the investigation and canvassing the neighbourhood and could not provide more details about the case. Story continues below advertisement “As with any tragedy like this, I can’t imagine how the parents are coping. As a parent myself I can’t imagine how I would cope. So we have provided victim services, they are surrounded by friends and family,” she said. The BC Coroners Service is also investigating. Police said no one has been arrested in the incident. Younger said when crews arrived, paramedics were removing the child from the vehicle. WATCH: New motion sensor technology could save lives 1:50 New motion sensor technology could save lives New motion sensor technology could save lives – Aug 1, 2017 The infant was transported to hospital in critical condition by paramedics, with firefighters assisting with CPR. Story continues below advertisement BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) said four units, including an advanced life support unit, arrived on scene within four minutes of receiving the call. WATCH: A baby left in a car can quickly become a fatality 2:48 A baby left in a car can quickly become a fatality A baby left in a car can quickly become a fatality – Jul 12, 2016 “With this kind of weather we’re having, yesterday we had record highs, this definitely wouldn’t be a time to leave your child at all in the car, or an animal, or anything,” said Younger. “Very scary thing.” Burleigh said police are pleading with the public not to leave their children alone in their vehicles in the warm weather. Story continues below advertisement “When you’re transporting your children in a vehicle, please check the vehicle and ensure that you have delivered your child and that they’re no longer in the vehicle when you’re parked and you’ve gone off to do your business for the day.” WATCH: RCMP warn parents and caregivers of the danger of leaving children in hot cars 0:39 ‘It’s about diligence, vigilance, we all get tired, we’re all exhausted at certain points’: RCMP on the death of toddler in hot car ‘It’s about diligence, vigilance, we all get tired, we’re all exhausted at certain points’: RCMP on the death of toddler in hot car – May 10, 2019 Experts say it can take just 20 minutes for the interior of a vehicle to reach extreme temperatures on a warm day. According to safety website kidsandcars.org, 52 children died of heatstroke in cars across the U.S. in 2018, and nine have lost their lives already in 2019.<doc-sep>
A toddler has died after being left alone in a car for hours in Burnaby, B.C., a city immediately east of Vancouver. Burnaby RCMP say the 16-month-old boy was discovered unconscious in a vehicle parked at Inman Avenue and Kingsway at about 5:45 p.m. PT on Thursday near Metrotown, a dense commercial and residential area of Burnaby. The boy was taken to hospital, but could not be saved. Police located the toddler's father at the scene, and say both parents are co-operating in the investigation. Neither has been arrested. Chief Supt. Deanne Burleigh called the incident an "extremely tragic event." She said the investigation is still in the early stages and officers are in the process of interviewing witnesses, family, neighbourhood residents and anyone else in the area. She did not share many details about the investigation, including who found the toddler or who made the 911 call, or exactly how many hours the child was in the car. "It's absolutely heartbreaking," Burleigh said. "I can't imagine how the parents are coping." She said the parents are being supported by Victim Services and are surrounded by friends and family. Unseasonably warm Burleigh emphasized the need for parents to be vigilant as temperatures rise over the next few days. "It's about not leaving children at any point unattended in a vehicle. Make sure you've delivered them where they need to be delivered," Burleigh said. "We're [in] a heat wave right now. Please don't leave your children unattended in a car, [at] any age." Most of B.C. is currently unseasonably warm, with temperatures 7 to 10 C above average in Metro Vancouver. The mercury reached a high of 21.4 C at Vancouver International Airport on Thursday, according to Environment Canada, and temperatures in Burnaby — several kilometres inland — were likely higher. With direct sunlight, the temperature would likely have risen even higher inside a car. The B.C. Coroners Service is also investigating. Doctor advises memory aides Dr. Erik Swartz, Vancouver Coastal Health and Providence Health Care's head of pediatrics, explained that young children are particularly susceptible to overheating. "First of all, the child can't get out of the car themselves so that's the obvious one," Swartz said. "Secondly a child's body surface area is much smaller than an adult's. So through perspiration they can't drop their body temperature as fast as an adult could." Swartz said a child can't be left alone in a car "for even a minute." He advises parents develop memory aides to remind them that the child is in the car. "Whether that's leaving your laptop or your cellphone, your handbag, your purse in the back of the car so you have to check the car, you must check the car, before you leave." He said in the U.S., about 40 to 50 children die in hot cars every year.