A mother and father have warned other parents of the danger of having separate heating systems for the different storeys in their homes.
Keri and Larry Volmert from Texas lost their 17-month-old daughter Sammie after the heating system on the second floor of their house malfunctioned.
According to WFAA8, the couple put their baby girl to bed on February 28th as usual. The next day, Larry found her dead.
What was first thought to be Sudden Infant Death Syndrome actually turned out to be hyperthermia (an elevated body temperature caused by external conditions).
When the little girl went to bed, the temperature was set to the normal 72 degrees Fahrenheit but it had risen to over 100 during the night.
The Volmerts’ heating system means that the second floor is heated separately to the first floor, where their master bedroom is located.
Larry explained to WFAA8: “As soon as I got to the top of the stairs, it was very warm – I mean, hot. I ran to her room, opened her door, and found her passed away.”
The couple tried to resuscitate their child but sadly, it was too late.
Keri added: “We miss her every second of the day. There’s a very large hole in our family without her here.”
She also revealed that Sammie didn’t make any noise that would have alerted them to the error: “She did not make a noise at all. We always heard her if she cried.”
The mum has urged other parents to be aware of this danger, which is extremely rare in homes, and buy one of the baby monitors that is equipped with a temperature sensor and alarm.
She said: “I want people who have two-storey homes to realize the danger, because we had never heard of this.”
The devastated parents are now considering legal action against the manufacturer of the heater.
