First responders conduct 'hot car challenge' to demonstrate how quickly vehicles heat up

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- First responders with the Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Department and the Harris County Sheriff's Office spent the morning demonstrating how quickly vehicles heat up in these record temperatures.

Four first responders went into a vehicle with no air conditioning.

After 27 minutes, the fire chief stopped the demo for safety purposes.

The dashboard read 147 degrees, and the temperature was well over 130 inside.

"I think I was actually not fully aware of everything," said Cy-Fair paramedic Elizabeth Skipper. "I kept saying, 'yeah, I'm okay,' but I don't think I was realizing that I have a headache. I was just so focused on 'I'm sweating and it's hot.'"

"It was very awful. The air was just compressed," explained Jacqueline Fortune with HCSO.

They recommend always leaving something like a cell phone or wallet in the back of the vehicle with your child as a reminder.