Valley guide
Child or pet locked in a hot car
Call 911 first. That is not a locksmith call. Firefighters and police come faster than any locksmith and can break a window without asking anyone's permission.
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Why minutes matter here
The National Weather Service measured a closed car going from a safe temperature to 94.3°F in just over 2 minutes, and says a dark dashboard or seat in the sun can reach 180 to over 200°F. It counts an average of 38 children a year in the US dying of heatstroke in vehicles. That happens with outside temperatures in the 70s. Phoenix Sky Harbor averaged 120 days a year at 100°F or hotter and 37 at 110°F or hotter from 2016 to 2025 (NOAA).
Average days a month at 100°F or hotter, Phoenix Sky Harbor
What to do, in order
- Call 911 and say a child or animal is locked in a car in the heat. Give the exact spot: the store, the row, the level of the garage.
- Look for the driver. Ask a store to page them, but don't leave the car to search.
- Watch the child or animal. Tell the dispatcher if they stop responding.
- If you break in, follow the conditions below, then stay until help arrives.
What Arizona law says
Arizona law (A.R.S. 12-558.02, passed in 2017) shields a person from being sued for damage when they force their way into a locked car to get a child or a dog, cat or other pet out, if they believe in good faith the child or animal is in imminent danger of serious injury or death, the car is locked or there is no other reasonable way out, they call police, firefighters, paramedics or animal control before going in, they use no more force than needed, and they stay with the child or animal until help arrives. The law covers civil damages, such as the owner suing you for a broken window. It doesn't cover unnecessary or malicious damage.
Your own car, keys inside, and nobody in it
That one is a locksmith call or a roadside call. Don't wait inside a closed car, and don't leave the engine running with the doors unlocked to "keep it cool" while you shop: that is how keys get locked inside a running car. Car lockouts.
Questions people in Phoenix ask
Can I break a window to save a dog in Arizona?
Arizona's 2017 law protects you from being sued for the damage if you believe in good faith the dog is in imminent danger, the car is locked, you call police or animal control before going in, you use no more force than needed, and you stay with the dog until help arrives.
Will a locksmith come for a child locked in a car?
Many will, but 911 is faster and free, and responders can break a window right away. Call 911 first, then a locksmith for the lock and any damage afterward.
Is it ever safe to leave a pet in a parked car in Phoenix?
Not from late spring to early fall, even with the windows cracked or for a short stop. The National Weather Service says a closed car heats past 94°F in a couple of minutes.