MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – On a cloudy but sunny South Florida day, Local 10 News spoke with Miami-Dade Fire Capt. Alex Lozano Friday who demonstrated how hot the inside of a vehicle can get during the scorching summer months.
The demo is meant to raise awareness of children’s hot car deaths and prevent tragedies from happening during this hot South Florida summer.
The objective was to see how hot the inside of a car can get after 25 minutes.
Lozano was on guard for the experienced and witnessed the temperature increase within minutes.
“It’s very dangerous because body temps can rise very rapidly,” said Lozano. “One of the first things you’ll feel is thirst and dizziness. You might start getting a headache and start sweating.”
After a check on the temperature and some instruction from the Lozano, Local 10 News reporter Andrew Perez went inside the hot car where the temperature was at 88 degrees.
After trying to pass the time, the temperature escalated to 97 degrees within a matter of minutes.
Perez said the temperature hit 106 degrees in six more minutes and wasn’t even at the halfway mark of the 25-minute demonstration.
Lozano said Florida is one of the leading states in hot car death, especially for children who don’t react the same way as most adults.
He said that out of eight cases of hot car deaths this year, half of them are in Florida.
“Infants and toddlers don’t have the same ability to sweat and cool themselves down like adolescence and adults,” Lozano said.
The final temperature in the car hit 109 degrees, a 20-degree jump in just 25 minutes.
With the extreme heat residents and visitors of South Florida are experiencing, authorities are trying to avoid any more tragedy.
Authorities said cracking a window will not make much difference in temperature and if you see any children or pets in a hot car, call 911 immediately.