Officials from CHRISTUS Spohn, along with the Corpus Christi Fire Department and the Department of Family and Protective Services today, held a demonstration to show just how quickly temperatures can rise inside of a locked car.
During today’s demonstration, a stuffed dog was placed inside of a car, along with a digital thermometer.
The temperature on the thermometer read 76 degrees when initially placed inside of the air-conditioned car. However, 15 minutes after shutting the car off, the inside temperature reading measured 113 degrees.
“It takes very little time for the inside of the vehicle to heat up to triple digits,” said John Lennan, of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. “ We’re talking about just a few minutes before things can turn very dangerous.”
The ‘Look before You Leave’ demonstration is designed not only to educate the public about the dangers of leaving children and pets inside a hot car, but how to prevent such tragedies from happening.
This year alone, there have been 26 hot car fatalities in the nation, with three of those reports in Texas. Each life is one too many, said Dr. Osbert Blow, Chief Medical Officer for CHRISTUS Spohn Health System.
“Children are much more susceptible to the heat than larger adults, because they can overheat more quickly and dehydrate much faster,” Dr. Blow said.
