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St. Louis summer camps use creative ways to try and beat the heat

At one camp, kids were supposed to wear firefighter gear but it's just too hot to do so.

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — On the third day of a heat wave, campers took a dive on Wednesday as dangerous temperatures climbed again.

That's why the pool stays cool at Indian Hills Swim Club.

"We cool them off at night," owner Sarah Houska said, "we put fountains in the main pool so that cools off a few degrees. The toddler pool has a circulated system that keeps it cool itself."

Campers can beat the heat even before classes started.

Houska tells parents to give lots of water to their kids the night before. 

Swim courses are early, so it's not as hot. When it starts to heat up, it's time for breaks.

"We try to have time in the shade so they can get out of that heat," Houska notes.

Houska wants to make sure kids are cooled off and protected from the sun.

"Just making sure, re-apply sunscreen three to four times on weeks like this. That balance is important because we don't want too much in the sun because we don't want them to sunburn, cool off, and stay hydrated outside of the pool as well," Houska shares. 

Also making a splash this summer is the Junior Recruit Fire Camp hosted by West County EMS and Fire and non-profit Safety House.

"What we're doing is the camp is totally based around the job and learning about the responsibility of a firefighter and paramedics," Kelly Cobb, Executive Director of Safety House, said.

The goal is to simmer down the heat.

On Wednesday, campers did many activities such as knocking down targets with hoses. To not get totally drained, they had lunch and breaks inside. 

To get in full character, kids were supposed to wear firefighter gear but it's just too hot to do so.

However, nothing is putting a damper on their day, the big firefighter truck dumped water on all the kids.

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