LOS ANGELES -- We have all heard stories of children being left in sweltering cars -- sometimes with fatal results. It's the kind of story that's so heartbreaking, because it's so avoidable. The parents who left them behind often explain, "the errand was not going to take long."

"That's what we hear: 'I was going to be gone just a moment,'" said Capt. Steve Ruda of the Los Angeles City Fire Department.

Ruda has seen more than his share of calls about children being stuck in hot cars. Adults need to give themselves a "zero tolerance" rule, according to Ruda

Parents like Erica Lopez and Sal Gonzalez said they would never leave a child in a car, even for a minute. "Wherever we go, we take the kids. We cannot even have them in the house... we can't even do that for five minutes."

"If the brain is without good oxygen for four to six minutes, you could have irreversible brain damage," said Ruda.

Think about what the sun can do to a candy bar or a candle sitting inside a car -- then put your child in its place. That's a recipe for disaster.

"You might look through the window and see him maybe breathing hard or maybe profusely sweating. That's necessary for us to be called right away," said Ruda.

Firefighters have slim-jims to pop locks and free locked in children. They also carry window punches.

"It just pops the window and (it) disintegrates," explained Ruda.

Of course, by the time the fire department arrives, you may have already broken a law that went into effect the first of the year. Leaving a child under 6 in a car unattended, could get you a $100 fine. Kaitlyn's Law is designed to make people think long and hard the next time they step away for just a moment -- with summer temperatures the way they've been lately, that could be just a moment too long.

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