Child Locked In Hot Car Rescued In Petaluma

PETALUMA (CBS SF) -- Quick-thinking Petaluma firefighters broke into a car Sunday to save a child who got locked inside with temperatures approaching 100 degrees outside of the vehicle, authorities said.

Petaluma Fire Battalion Chief Mike Madeiros said his agency got a call around noon from a girl who said her young sister was locked inside the family car.

Arriving firefighters quickly discovered they could not use their normal tools to open the door on the newer model BMW.

"The little 3-year-old was inadvertently locked inside the car by her 17-year-old sister," Madeiros said. "The heat was increasing (inside the BMW) and the child was in distress."

So firefighters broke open the windows and pulled the child out. The child was taken to a local hospital for evaluation.

"She's fine. It's (her condition) a testament to calling 911 early," Madeiros said.