(RNN) – A garden hose lying in direct sunlight can be a dangerous thing.
Remember drinking out of a warm hose? It’s like that but much worse.
On a hot summer’s day, the sun’s rays can heat the water inside to 140 degrees.
That’s hot enough to seriously burn children and animals.
Las Vegas Fire & Rescue posted a tweet this week showing a baby with first- and second-degree burns.
“That happened a few years ago in another community,” Las Vegas Public Information Officer Tim Szymanski said. “I use it as an example of what can happen.”
Las Vegas Fire and Rescue recommends letting the water run for a few minutes before spraying anything to reduce the risk.
Here in Las Vegas, a garden hose exposed to direct sunlight during summer can heat the water inside the hose (not flowing) to 130-140 degrees which can cause burns especially to children & animals. Let the water flow a few minutes to cool before spraying on people or animals. pic.twitter.com/FMkzEt27xl
— Las Vegas FireRescue (@LasVegasFD) June 4, 2018
