Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue Lt. Michael Murtaugh remembers his first unattended-child call.

"It was a difficult day for me, and it was so unnecessary," he said Wednesday. "It is the worst thing that can happen to us as the first responders to a scene."

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The incident made national news. A dentist who practiced in Boca Raton forgot his 3-year-old son in his SUV and went to work. The boy died less than two hours later. He had a temperature of 108 degrees.

Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue is now using the sides of fire engines to prevent similar calls. Firefighters will post signs on the sides of the engines, hoping to raise awareness about children's safety, seasonal fire safety and injury prevention.

More than 100 fire engines around the county will sport signs with the photo of Kaitlyn Marie Russel, a 6-month-old who died in California after a caretaker left her unattended in a vehicle. "Never leave a child unattended in a car," the sign urges. "You wouldn't leave your groceries in the car. ... Why would you leave me?"

Veteran firefighter John S. Flaherty got the idea for the signs when a fire alarm interrupted a conference he was attending in San Diego.

"A fire engine pulled up, and I saw a sign on the side of it," he said. "No fire engine ever caught my attention like that. I thought, 'How many others could we reach?' People always look at a big red firetruck."

With the help of Elyse Brown of fire-rescue's community education department and the 4 R Kids Sake organization, the department was able to get signs. Other signs will address car seats for children, drowning prevention and hurricane preparedness, Brown said.

State Sen. Mandy Dawson, D-Fort Lauderdale, helped slide the first sign into a bracket on Engine 57. Dawson remembered her reaction to news reports of unattended children who died.

"I cried every time," Dawson said. "Then I pulled myself together and thought, 'Everyone is crying, but then what do we do?' "

Dawson championed the Unattended Children in Vehicles law, which toughens the penalty for leaving a child alone in a car to a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. If the child is injured or dies, the penalty increases to up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.

Children are particularly at risk in South Florida, where temperatures in vehicles can increase quickly during the summer. In June, 22-month-old Chey'nia Laytrice Joseph died after she slipped into the family car while her parents slept.

"We would much rather educate than have to go to save," Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue spokesman Capt. Don DeLucia said. "We hope this helps get the message out."