A devastated mum says she wants to spare other families from the ‘horrific grief’ she endures each day, by sharing the story of her toddler’s tragic death.

It was a normal night in February 2016. Keri Volmert changed her 18-month-old daughter, Sammie, into a nightgown, wiped her snotty nose and took her to say goodnight to her dad and big brother before putting the toddler to bed.

“I carried her up the stairs and placed her down in her beautiful crib that was made for a princess,” explained in a Facebook post.

“She cried a little bit, and I walked out of the room knowing she would be asleep within two minutes as she always was. I never would have imagined that would be the last time I would see her alive.”

The next morning, Keri’s husband went to wake Sammie, but instead started screaming for his wife.

“I was in the kitchen making coffee and as soon as he screamed ‘Keri’ I knew something was terribly wrong. I froze and he yelled my name again as he ran down the upstairs hallway. ‘I think Sammie is dead’.

“I met him as he rushed down the stairs carrying our precious angel who just hours before had been so feisty and full of life. Attempts to resuscitate her did not work and she was pronounced dead fifty minutes later at the emergency room.”

The family discovered that although their upstairs thermostat was set to around 22°C, the heater was blasting on the second storey of their home and it ‘felt like a sauna’.

In fact, the temperature on the thermostat was almost 40°C, which was as high as it could go.

“Sammie died of hyperthermia. Doctors believe she never woke up or made a sound since children (until age 3 to 5) cannot regulate their own body temperature as older children and adults are able to do.

“Throughout our shock and disbelief, we have researched and found cases similar to ours. Upon preparing to become a mother, I read multiple books and stories on possible dangers that could harm babies and toddlers. I knew blankets, stuffed animals, pillows, etc. could be dangerous to babies before they were a year old.

“Both of mine slept in sleep sacks with an angel care breathing monitor until they were one. I was such a worrier and they both stayed in bassinets in our room until they were six months old. I wish I had once read about this.

“There is a cheap temperature monitor I could have had-would have had If I had heard of even one instance where a child could die by a heater not turning off like it is supposed to.”

Keri’s son Jackson, who was three at the time, had been sleeping in his parent’s bedroom downstairs for the past year, because he was frightened of monsters.

“Doctors said he would have likely died if he had been in his room.”

Keri wants the family’s tragic story to serve as a warning to parents.

“We want others (especially those with two-storey homes) to hear Sammie’s story so that children can be protected and other families spared from the horrific grief we are forced to endure each day.”