NORTHAMPTON — With summer official this week, the Northwestern district attorney’s office and children’s advocacy centers of Hampshire and Franklin counties and North Quabbin urge anyone caring for children to recognize the unique dangers summer can bring.

“It takes a community working together to ensure preventable child deaths and injuries don’t occur because people are distracted,” said Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan. “To avoid needless tragedies, we all must be vigilant.”

The district attorney’s Child Fatality Review Team determined summertime dangers are primarily around water play, accidentally leaving children in hot cars and improperly secured windows.

These teams are mandated by state law. Local DAs assemble multidisciplinary groups to review infant and child deaths to assess if they were preventable.

“These review teams look to make constructive recommendations based on their careful reviews. It’s our obligation to find ways to save young lives from preventable deaths,” Sullivan said.

Safety tips 

Windows: Open windows from the top down and use stops to keep windows from opening more than 4 inches. 

Cars: Actively use prompts like placing a bag or lunch in the backseat where an infant is buckled in to prevent accidentally leaving an infant in a car. 

Water: Test locks on pool fencing regularly, install pool drain covers and be wary of risks beneath the surface of natural bodies of water.

The campaign offers posters with tips for safer practices for placement in community settings. Posters can be printed from the district attorney’s office website; Printed copies can be requested here: https://www.northwesternda.org/contact-info/webforms/send-us-note.