A vehicle occupant safety system involves multiple sensors within a vehicle, a monitor aggregator, a processor, a vehicle electronic control system, and a decision engine which will compare sensor data against a set of sensor parameters to determine whether any of multiple potential danger conditions exists within the vehicle, and determine which of multiple control actions are to be automatically taken and modify operation of at least one vehicle component. If a further determination is made that either the specified danger condition is persisting or has exceeded at least one specified severity threshold, the decision engine will determine whether to further modify operation of any vehicle component or take a specified escalation action. The decision engine will continue to make determinations regarding the specified danger condition and decide whether to take further control actions until the specified danger condition no longer exists.