Demonstration Shows Dangers of Hot Cars

The summer heat is here and officials are warning people here in Connecticut about the dangers of hot cars at a time fire officials and EMTs across the country are finding children and animals left in vehicles.

Glastonbury fire officials teamed up with Glastonbury EMS and the Silent Partner Marketing to demonstrate what can happen when a person or pet is left in a hot car for too long. 

Chrissy Monaco and Kyle Reyes, of Silent Partner Marketing, hopped into an SUV Monday afternoon when the sun was at its peak in Glastonbury. 

They were sitting in a black SUV with a black interior. The doors and windows were locked, the air conditioning was off. 

While the temperature outside was 85 degrees, the temperature inside the car was 90 degrees. 

The pair was told to stay in the car for as long as they could or until Glastonbury fire and EMS told them to get out.

At five minutes, the car was already at 101 degrees and the temperature slowly rose.

At about 10 minutes in, you could see the heat waves radiating off the top of the car's hood.

Monaco could barely put words into a sentence at that point.

“It’s stifling … This … this last minute has become … it’s starting to become … understandable how people just lose consciousness,” Monaco said as her breathing began to get heavy. 

The temperature in the SUV rose to 109 degrees after 20 minutes and that’s when fire officials and EMTs supervising the test ordered the pair to get out of the car. 

“It’s pretty bad in there -- what we kind of went through. It’s unbearable to think that there’s a child that’s locked in a car seat that can't do anything that hopes a passerby sees them in there,” Monaco said when she got out of the SUV.

“It’s basically like a convection oven. It’s going to increase your core. [Your] body temperature is going to elevate. Your body is going to have a hard time correcting it,” Kurt Guillemette, of Glastonbury EMS, said. 

Fire and EMS officials said the demonstration provides a timely lesson. Do not leave people or pets in a hot car. 

If you are in an emergency situation and have to get someone out of a hot car, grab a heavy item -- preferably one with a handle, but a rock will also work. Use it to break the window, starting with the corner. The corner is the easiest spot to break, however, they advise you to pick a window on the opposite end of where the child or pet is seated.

The windshield will not break as easily due to the safety glass.

Monday's demonstration was held outside Glastonbury Fire Department’s Fire Training facility.

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