Hartford

Health Officials Warn About Dangers of Hot Playgrounds

As the heat wave in Connecticut continues, experts are warning parents of the dangers at playgrounds where the temperature of slides and swings can rise to dangerous levels.

At Fernridge Park in West Hartford, a temperature reading of a plastic slide hovered around 150 degrees on Monday afternoon.

“They can get second- or third-degree burns, especially on the back of their thighs or parts of their body that are not covered by clothing,” explained Kevin Borrup, an injury prevention specialist at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.

While visiting Goodwin Park in Hartford on Monday, Marian Flores shared her concerns for her granddaughter and great niece.

"I told them if we are going to go to the park, it’s strictly to the sprinklers," Flores said. "Don’t go on the slides. Those things are scorching hot!”

Experts encourage parents to do a quick touch test to prevent their children from getting burned.

“We recommend that all parents check the equipment, such as the swing seat and slide," Borrup said. "Check it with your hand, feel if it’s hot.”

As far as keeping children safe, doctors recommend they drink water every 15 minutes and parents should watch for warning signs of heat stroke. They say it can overcome a child more quickly because they are not able to regulate their body temperature as well as adults.

”If they start to look tired, they start to complain they have a headache or any sort of illness complaints, then we need to be concerned that they may be developing signs of heat stroke,” said Dr. Steve Rogers, an emergency physician at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.

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