Students suffer heat exhaustion at camp

DAVIE, Fla. (WSVN) -- Six high school students had to be rushed to the emergency room after suffering the effects of heat exhaustion at a South Florida camp.

All this week, about 450 Broward high school students from the JROTC have been camping out at Camp Seminole. On Friday afternoon, as they broke down their camp, at the end of their session, some students became so sick they had to be transported to nearby hospitals.

According to Davie Fire Rescue, though it may have been about 90 degrees out, the heat index felt closer to 100 degrees. As many as 14 students complained about feeling sick. Six of those became so ill they needed to be transported to the hospital. Fire rescuers stressed, however, none were seriously sick, and this was done as a precaution.

Yle Goodcharan saw some of his fellow JROTC students becoming suffering from heat exhaustion. "Some of them looked pretty bad," he said. "I saw some people shaking, some looked groggy."

Ken Julien, another student said, "It was just straight sweating, sweating, sweating. It was hard for them to breath. They needed water ."

The students said the camp had plenty of water on hand, but those who became ill may have not hydrated themselves enough. Fire rescue is emphasizing this as a learning experience. If you need to be out in such extreme heat, make sure you drink enough water. They also said cooler water will help cool your body down.

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