Lake County’s EMS director took up a local radio host’s challenge to sit in a hot car with him for an hour Wednesday afternoon.
Ralph Smith hosted a show on WLBE 790AM from the Tavares Waffle House parking lot at 1 p.m., with Jerry Smith sitting in the driver's seat of his EMS vehicle.
They of course took plenty of precautions, with heat stroke setting when the body’s core temperature reaches 104 degrees. They were equipped with heart, blood pressure and body temperature monitors and medical staff were on standby.
Thankfully for them it turned out to be an overcast 75 degree day.
Still in a little less than an hour the car’s temperature rose eight degrees.
“It was hot, I’ll do it again if we have to but I prefer not to,” Jerry Smith said.
Ralph Smith said he hoped their hour of discomfort saves a family from a lifetime of pain.
“It’s something that is so 100 percent preventable," Smith said. "Some things are acts of God, but this is just being cognizant you’ve got a child in there.”
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said 32 children died in 2012 after being left alone in car.
They’ve launched a campaign called "Where’s Baby?" encouraging parents to “Look Before They Lock.”