knew what they were doing. i think the punishment fits the crime. they don t have the ability to metabolize or use the heat as an adult does. and in a short period of time they can die. heatstroke core temperatures can get as high as 104 and lead to death. so you can t take a chance leaving the young people in the vehicles. do you think they really understand that? it seems common sense to us of course. but, you know, people think well i ll dash in here a little bit and then come right back. how do we calibrate the legal culpability of those who make decisions in the rush of the moment that end up, you know, can costing the lives of their children? by what we re doing today, education and awareness. we have to let people know these young people can get sick quick and early. under no circumstances is it okay to leave a child in the car
but there are new ways to keep you safe from the heat. right now one university is studying how to prevent its athletes from entering that danger zone. elizabeth prann live in atlanta to tell us about it. hi, elizabeth. hi. in 2010, there were four heat stroke-related deaths on the football field. in 2011, this week, we ve already had four, which is why researchers at the university of tennessee, chattanooga, are looking at alternative ways to fight the heat. take a listen. the advantage of this technology, quite honestly, is if it is representative of core temperatures, then you can have people wear a simple head band or embed this monitor inside a football helmet. so what he s talking about is a small ingestible cap that s been used in nfl for decades. he s comparing it against new technologies that a lot of high school teams are looking at.
the advantages of this technology, quite honestly, if it is representative of core temperatures and you can have people wear a simple headband or embed this monitor inside a football helmet. reporter: now the headband would be distorted high schools and colleges. it would be zheeper than the capsule and there is not a nationwide standard for heat stroke for evacuations and rescuing people. so it s very important to educate not only players but coaches and especially trainers. so education, is that the primary concern with this technology? that is the primary concern. what he is worried about that the headband may not be a completely hundred percent accurate like the internal core temperature capsule. that is getting the temperature of the core. it makes it an algorithm so he
reporter: 500 people have gone to emergency rooms and urgent care centers for heat- related illnesses. the seattle fire department has received more than 100 calls for medical incidents due to the heat wave. and a lot of folks that were having heat-related injuries, we were out helping folks that had core temperatures that had gotten up in the 104, 105-degree range. reporter: there are new fears tonight about the lava fire burning in northern california. it s grown rapidly and forced thousands to evacuate. officials are concerned that the dangerous heat could prompt more fires. on the east coast, heat and humidity are continuing to build. in philadelphia, new york, and boston as residents try to keep cool any way they can. they are still breaking records across the state, and emergencyd officials warn that this could only be the beginning of what could be a very dangerous and brutal summer ahead. norah.