Warm Days Can Create Dangerously Hot Surfaces

It doesn't have to be the hottest day of the year for everyday playground surfaces to be too hot to touch.

Dr. Ryan Fey is a Burn Surgeon at Hennepin County Medical Center, and he says burns on summer days are a risk. "It's not so much the air temp that's the problem; it's the bright sun beating down onto a surface, heating the surface," he says.

Measurements taken Tuesday showed a hot spot on a child's playground of 150 degrees, a steering wheel of 141 degrees, and a park bench at more than 130 degrees.

Julie Philbrook is a Trauma Prevention Specialist at Hennepin County Medical Center. She says children are especially at risk. "A lot of times, young children don't react the same why to heat, they don't pull away. So when they sit down on a hot surface, they're not as quick to get away," she says. "They're in contact longer and at more risk of second and third degree burns."

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