PBFD talks car seat safety

“Children are prized possessions” who need to be properly protected at all times, especially in vehicles, said Poplar Bluff Firefighter Josh Buhler.

Buhler is among a trio of fire department car seat technicians. The others are firefighter Tyler Daggett and Lt. Andrew Fox. They agree child safety seats reduce the risk of death, but more than half of car seats are not correctly used or installed.

“We have been to accidents involving children who weren’t restrained at all,” Fox said. “No car seat, no seatbelt.”

They also see child safety seats not installed properly or the wrong seat for the child.

Nearly 73% of all child restraints are not used correctly, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation.

As part of the firefighters’ continuing education class, they are trained and certified in how to properly install and instruct others in installing the child safety seats.

The course is 37 hours over four days and “there’s a lot more to it than what you realize before you start,” Fox said.

Buhler said, “the biggest thing is trying to get more people involved with making sure their car seats are properly installed. You learn things throughout training and you want to make sure and ensure everyone is safe.”

The biggest thing is having the right seat for the child.

“It’s not just the infants and young children,” said Fox, adding, “It’s middle school children who are not at the right height and weight to meet the guidelines to be able to be out of a car seat.”

Car seats have expiration dates. Unless they are stamped differently, it is six years.

The seats have a lot of foam and a lot of materials where the quality breaks down over time with temperature changes, Buhler said.

If anyone is involved in a collision, where there’s any damage to the vehicle, the insurance companies will likely replace the seat, according to the men.

“We had a deer strike our vehicle and got glass throughout the whole vehicle. There was a safety concern to the children sitting in the seat with glass so the insurance covered it for us,” Buhler said.

Whenever someone does purchase a new car seat, it comes with a paper to submit for a warranty. It helps if there’s a recall on those, Buhler emphasized. If someone gives away a car seat that they already have registered, they need to share the recall information with the next person using the equipment.

Using his own family as an example, Fox said, when his child was being released from a children’s hospital, he had to make an appointment to have the child seat and the installation inspected before the staff released the baby.

The fire department is planning on “partnering with the SEMO Coalition for Roadway Safety to be able to offer seats to people who may be on some type of assistance,” Fox said. “The project will be income based. If they were to meet the qualifications, there’s going to be stipulations, they’ll receive a seat.”

Fox said, “It’s another service we can bring to the community to try to help keep the community safe.”

Plans are to have checkup sites at least one to two times a year, where someone can be designated and not have to leave to fight a fire.

As both firefighters and parents, Buhler and Fox are pleased the PBFD service is provided free. They stress no one has to wait for the designated clinics. If anyone decides they would like to have a car seat inspected, or assistance in installing one, contact the fire department at 573-686-8692 or Fire Station 1, 300 S. Broadway, to schedule a time.

Car seat recommendations for rear-facing, forward-facing, booster or seat belts are based on children’s age, weight and height.

In Missouri, the law requires children less than 4 years old or less than 40 pounds must be in an appropriate child safety seat, according to MoDOT. Children ages 4 through 7 who weigh at least 40 pounds must be in an appropriate child safety seat or booster seat unless they are 80 pounds or 4 foot, 9 inches tall. Children 8 and over or weighing at least 80 pounds or at least 4 foot, 9 inches tall are required to be secured by a safety belt or buckled into an appropriate booster seat.