NEWS RELEASE: Milton car seat safety checks

MILTON, Ga. - The Milton Fire-Rescue Department is launching a program to keep kids safe when in the backseat of their parents’ vehicles, kicking off this public service with a car seat safety check event Friday.

Between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on March 3, parents can drive over their car seats to Fire Station 44 (13690 Highway 9). Two of the Department’s firefighters, Capt. Andrew Kennedy and CARES Coordinator Derek Hofmann – both of whom recently earned certifications as Child Passenger Safety Technicians – will then methodically check their seats, a process that could take up to 30 minutes.

Parents need to make an appointment in advance to arrange a time slot (in order to prevent them and others from waiting an excessive amount of time) by calling 678-242-2536. People can call that same phone number any time after, too, to make a similar appointment in the future during regular, Monday-through-Friday business hours.

Federal government reports have found that a significant number of car seats – between 46% to 82%, depending on the study – are installed incorrectly in the United States. Of course, this is unintentional on parents’ part; putting in car seats can be tricky for many reasons.

Improperly installed car seats can lead to injuries to a child, even when there’s not a major crash. This is why Milton Fire-Rescue’s Community Risk Reduction team wanted to offer this importance service. Their Child Passenger Safety Technicians can check rear-facing car seats, forward-facing car seats, booster seats, and seat belts.

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