Abbotsford Police responded on Sunday afternoon to reports that two kids had been left alone in a car with the windows rolled up.
The incident took place at about 5 p.m. at the Real Canadian Superstore on Gladwin Road.
A shopper, who sent an email to The News, noticed two children sleeping in a car that had been parked in the sun. None of the windows was open, and there were no adults in sight.
"Temperatures in cars can soar and the children were in grave danger of overheating in such weather," the person stated.
The shopper alerted two store employees, who then ran to the car and banged on the windows to wake up the kids. The older child opened the car doors, while the owner of the vehicle was paged repeatedly.
Employees also called 911, and police arrived at the scene.
Const. Ian MacDonald confirmed the incident, and said the children in question were ages 12 and four, and were not siblings.
Their two moms had gone shopping and didn't want to wake them, MacDonald said. He said it is estimated the kids had been in the vehicle for 30 minutes.
The moms were warned about the consequences of leaving children in a closed vehicle in the heat, and the Ministry of Children and Family Services was informed of the incident.
MacDonald commended those involved for their quick actions, but advised others in similar situations to first phone 911. Police arrive on the scene quickly in such circumstances, he said.
He suggested that bystanders break a window only if the children appear to be in immediate danger.
Don't break the window immediately adjacent to a child, he added.