The Burton Fire District is wrapping up another week of what officials are describing as a string of close calls and tragedies.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

“What is particularly tragic,” Burton Fire Captain Bobby Davidson, who was in command of a devastating scene this week, said, “is that almost all of it could have been prevented by seatbelts and properly restraining children.”

On Wednesday, Aug. 28, just past 9 a.m., Davidson and his crew responded to a motor vehicle incident on Trask Parkway involving a 2-year-old child, who was unrestrained and fell out of a moving vehicle. Burton firefighter/EMTs and Beaufort County EMS personnel treated the child who was transported with what appeared to be life threatening injuries.

Just seven days earlier, on Aug. 21, just before 10 p.m., also on Trask Parkway, Burton and MCAS firefighters, along with County EMS, responded to a vehicle collision involving one vehicle rolling over and ejecting all three occupants, one of which was an approximately 3-year-old child who appeared to be improperly restrained and also appeared to suffer life threatening injuries along with the driver.

During the two-week time period from Aug. 18 to 31, Burton firefighter/EMTs and paramedics, along with EMS personnel, responded to 15 motor vehicle collisions and treated 25 injured people. Four of those incidents involved multiple injured people.

While Burton officials continue to stress the importance of seatbelts; restraining children by securing them in the vehicle in a properly sized car seat or booster seat is critical.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

“It comes down to realizing it could happen to you,” Davidson said. “In a second your child is gone.”