Heat stroke occurs when the body temperature reaches approximately 104 degrees F and body temperatures of 107 degrees or greater are often fatal. The problem is exacerbated with children because their body temperature rises at a rate 3-5 times faster than adults.
In the Gainesville case, the air temperature was already 80 when the children were left in the car at 8:30 Thursday morning. They were rescued about 9:40 and taken the a hospital, treated for dehydration and relased to their father. (See separate story.)
Investigators did not say what the temperature was inside the car at the time the youngsters, ages 3 and 5, were taken from the vehicle, but various postings on the Internet, cite tests that show how rapidly the inside of a car or truck car get dangerously hot when it is parked outside on even a mildly warm day.
In a 2001 posting on the California Office of Traffic Safety Web site, Maria Contreras-Sweet, the state's Secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency at the time said "Adults often don't realize how quickly the temperature inside a vehicle can rise. All it takes is a few minutes for the temperature inside a car, even with the windows cracked, to rise to dangerous levels."
Experts say it can happen in as little as 10 minutes, according to the posting.
Even on a mild day at 73 degrees outside, the temeprature inside a vehicle can reach 100 degrees in 10 minutes, to 120 in just 30 minutes. As the outdoor temperature rises, so does the heat buildup in a vehicle. At 90 degrees outside, the interior of a vehicle can heat up to 160 degrees within several minutes.
Slightly opening a window to let air in does little to protect kids from the effects of heat buildup in a parked car, the report says. When the outside temperature is 93 degrees with a window down 1 inch, the temperature inside a car can reach 125 degrees in just 20 minutes and approximately 140 degrees in 40 minutes.
Children's developing respiratory system makes them particularly vulnerable to heat exhaustion. As the heat rises, their body temperatures rise. An infant in a broken down car in 110-degree heat can get in trouble quickly. Infants tend to heat up very quickly, rapidly approaching the temperature of their environment.
Other tests, quoted by HCFS, show that opening windows does not significantly decrease the temperature rise.
HCFS offers these tips to follow to protect children from hot cars and trucks when temperatures at 80 or above:
· Keep cars locked at all times, even in the garage or driveway;
· Teach children not to play around cars;
· Never leave a child in an unattended car, even with the windows down;
· Always make sure that all child passengers have left the car
http://accesswdun.com/article/2006/8/106273