ORLANDO, Fla. – A family is crediting police and firefighters for rescuing their 2-year-old son after he became locked inside their vehicle.
On Thursday afternoon, Ken Rubin said his family was shopping near the Mall at Millenia when his son Apollo accidentally locked the doors while inside.
"Went to shut the door. Apollo grabbed the key from (my wife's) hand as she shut the door.
We heard the click when Apollo hit the lock on the fob," Rubin said.
An Orlando police officer patrolling nearby heard the family's call for help.
"I said 'Hey, we locked our kid in the car. Can you give us a hand?' He called the fire department, which had a long Slim Jim," Rubin said.
The father recorded video on his cellphone while rescuers kept a close eye on the boy and tried to open the door without breaking the SUV'S rear window.
After about 30 minutes, Rubin said his son began sweating profusely and firefighters forced their way inside.
One firefighter was heard talking to the family in the video.
"Well the next thing that's going to happen is he's going to be passed out and we don't want that," the firefighter said.
With the effects of the heat moving in, a window from the SUV was broken and the boy was pulled from inside.
Paramedics examined the child, who was uninjured in the incident.
The boy's parents said they hope their story helps highlight the dangers of leaving a child inside a vehicle and are grateful police and firefighters quickly rescued their son.
"Orlando Police Department and fire department both showed up right away on the spot and helped us out, so we're very grateful they were there to help us and they're our heroes for the day," Rubin said.