Video: Forsyth County Deputy Simulates Summer Heat Inside Baking Car

Today (July 31) is National Heatstroke Prevention Day across the country, and the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office is using the day to show just how dangerous the summer heat can be to our bodies.

A deputy from the Sheriff’s Office volunteered to sit in a hot car in the Georgia summer sun for 25 uninterrupted minutes to prove just how the heat can affect us all, especially a child or pet.

“The main point we want to illustrate with this video is a lot of times people think ‘Oh, it’s not that hot, and I’m just going to be a few minutes,’ but the temperature rises so fast, I’ve been in this car for a minute and a half and we’re jumping up quite a bit,” the deputy said in the video.

The video, originally posted on July 18, already has more than 142,000 views as of time of publication.

At the start of the video, the temperature inside the car, which had already been sitting outside for 10 minutes but had doors and windows open during that time, was above 96 degrees Fahrenheit.

Seven minutes after beginning the simulation, the temperature inside the car (with doors and windows now shut) had already jumped to 101 degrees, and the officer noted his heart rate had “skyrocketed” and nearly doubled its normal rate. The officer said he “didn’t even realize” his heart rate had climbed so high in such a short amount of time.

The video even notes the cameras inside the vehicle couldn’t take the heat, clarifying that high internal temperatures caused the cameras to temporarily shut down.

At the end of the 25-minute simulation, which ended with another officer outside the car yelling “I think we proved our point,” the deputy noted the inside of the driver’s seat door measured to be 124 degrees Fahrenheit.

“It’s tragic when it’s so avoidable,” the deputy said in the video of when law enforcement receives calls regarding passengers in hot cars.

Check out the entire video below, and spread it around this National Heatstroke Prevention Day to keep your community members, especially children and pets, safe this summer.

Patch file photo