Back in January, while in Frisco, I put my baby in the car and threw my keys in the front seat so they would be waiting for me when I got there. As I walked around the car to put my toddler in to his car seat, I was stopped dead in my tracks when I realized the door was lock. The rest of them were locked, too. And my 15 month old? He was still strapped in to his car seat.
Terrifying.
To make matters worse, my phone had died.
Fortunately, a nice woman saw me standing there and realized I might need some help. I was able to borrow her phone and after waiting about 45+ minutes, my husband came with a break in kit he borrowed from his car dealer connections.
Luckily, my baby had fallen asleep and was totally fine.
The Frisco police officer who pulled me over, for something totally unrelated, almost immediately afterward, told me the fire department would open a locked car if there was a child inside.
Although I thought I would never need that information again, I did remember what he said.
A month and a half later, it happened again, in Dallas. My baby had gotten his hands on my keys and pushed buttons on my key fob. One of those buttons was the lock button and I didn’t realize it until I had already shut the door. I was incredibly embarrassed but there was nothing I could do. This time it was cold and my two year old was sick, in my arms.
Because of what that police officer said, I called the fire department because my husband couldn’t get there.
The big firetruck pulled in to the parking lot and after checking on my baby in the car and telling me he looked fine, they explained that they could not open the door to the car and no longer carried the tools to do so. The only thing they could do was break a window and had it been in the heat of the summer, they would not have hesitated.
Knowing that my baby was fine inside the car, we had no desire to have the window broken. My husband was able to break away from work and came to save the day. I tried to send the firemen on their way but they insisted on staying until my husband could get there.
They helped my husband get the door open and made sure my baby was ok when we got the door open. Even though they couldn’t open the door for me, those guys were great!
After posting on my blog and Facebook about my experience/bad luck, I had many helpful responses. One of them was one I think every mom should know about.
With summer right around the corner, it’s crucial information. We all know how dangerous it can be for kids in the car during the summer. The inside of the car can go from hot to deadly in such a short time. It’s scary. Fortunately for me, both of my incidents happened during cool/cold weather days.
Pop-A-Lock Dallas is a professional locksmith offering completely free 24/7 door unlock services to Dallas residents whenever a child is inside. Even when calling 911, Pop-A-Lock is dispatched.
Put this number in your phone now! You never know when you might need it as the temperatures start to rise over the next few months.
214-342-1880
It can happen to even the most careful parents.
Also, I now carry an extra key in my purse but I’m open to other ideas you might have about how to prevent this from happening to me again.
I thought I had been careful.
Thanks for the info! Putting the number in my phone now.