Anchorage firefighters to offer free car seat check-up
Study finds more than 80% may be installing them incorrectly
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - We’ve all heard that buckling our seat belts saves lives; the same thing goes for car seats, according to Anchorage Firefighter Ryan Sharr.
“The amount of injuries that come from an improperly — or no installation of a car seat — is staggering,” Sharr said.
Sharr is a car seat technician instructor at the Anchorage Fire Department. This week, he is teaching a 40-hour class on car seat installation to the newest Fire Academy grads so that they, in turn, can teach the public this important skill.
He said the once-a-year training is a proactive way to help protect children, because — unlike seatbelts — installing car seats can be confusing, and vary from brand to brand.
“That just means that the caregiver has tried,” he said. “They may have pored over that instruction manual, used the QR code, and done that for hours. And there’s just these little things that we are learning in this class to make sure the seat fits the vehicle and make sure the occupant is safe.”
According to the Alaska Child Passenger Safety Coalition, the help is needed. It says last year, of the more than 1,500 car seat inspections conducted statewide, 84% were found to have some form of misuse or were uninstalled upon arrival.
Sara Penisten Turcic, a registered nurse who is the state coordinator for Safe Kids Alaska, said Alaska law requires car seats or booster seats for children up to either eight years of age, 65 pounds in weight, or 4 foot, 9 inches in height.
“What we need to understand is that laws are the minimum requirements, they don’t necessarily reflect the best practices,” Penisten Turcic said.
For example, she said, safety experts recommend that children stay in booster seats until they are tall enough for their feet to touch the vehicle floor, and shoulder belts should cross at their shoulder, not their neck or cheek.
“Most kids meet that at the age of 10 to 12 years old,” she said.
Firefighters say people can stop by fire stations any time to get their car seats checked, but the Anchorage department is holding a special event on Thursday, May 22.
The free car seat check-up will take place at the Anchorage Fire Training Center at 1140 Airport Heights Drive from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
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