Norwalk fire and elected officials gathered at Norwalk Fire Headquarters Tuesday to remind parents about the dangers of leaving children in hot cars.

According to the National Safety Council, 52 children died last year making it the deadliest year on record in two decades.

Over 1,125 children have died in hot cars since 1990 and on average, 38 children die in hot cars each year in the United States, according to data collected by Kids and Car Safety.

"Children heat up three to five times faster than adults. So if you're hot, young children definitely are – and you need to cool them off," says Kevin Borrup, executive director of the Injury Prevention Center at Connecticut Children's. “…The first ten minutes in a car is critical. That's when most of the heat accumulates in a vehicle."

Sen. Richard Blumenthal has introduced legislation that will require an alert system in every car that would sound an alarm when a child or pet is left in the back seat.