SLIDELL, La. — Do you ever walk outside in the summer heat and feel like you're baking in the sun? The sun almost acts as an oven which proves how dangerous it can be.
"We're coming with you today with some cookie dough," Slidell Police Department Sgt. Jake Morris said in a video shared on Facebook. "We're going to set them out."
Sgt. Morris found out just how hot it gets inside your car under the south Louisiana blazing sun. He set out raw cookie dough for several hours and watched them bake in a Slidell police unit.
"I kid you not, I can literally smell these cookies right now," he said. "This pan is hot. They got a little crunch to them."
They cookies were a little doughy, but took shape and looked baked. SPD had a taste test. Some officers, including Chief Randy Fandal, were hesitant to try them.
"They look like dough," one officer said.
The fun experiment comes with a serious message.
"Just as recently as this morning we received a call of a teenager experiencing a heat stroke during practice," Sgt. Morris said.
The extreme heat is dangerous and can be deadly. Sgt. Morris said Slidell police officers have cited a handful of people this summer for leaving children or pets in a hot car.
"Most likely it will be neglect or child endangerment. It takes little to no time for a child to experience heat exhaustion or death," Sgt. Morris said.
According to the CDC, there are an average of 702 heat related deaths every year in the country and the National Safety Council reported on average, 38 children under 15 die every hear in a hot car. 33 died last year and already 13 this year.
"Couldn't even tell you the number of pets that die every year," Slidell Police Public Information Officer Daniel Seuzeneau said.
He suggests leaving your purse, a shoe, or your cell phone in the back seat with your child as a reminder to check.
"As sad as this is, if you left your cell phone in your car, you'd almost know immediately you don’t have your cell phone," he said.