(WTIC-AM) -- Seven children were taken to the hospital by ambulance from the Life Be In It Extravaganza in Newington today.
The children were ill because of dehydration and heat.
According to the National Weather Service, it was 89 degrees at 11:53 am at Brainard Airport in Hartford.
About 900 children were at the outdoor festival from summer camps.
Shortly before the problems, organizers of the event said they made plans to deal with the heat.
Earlier in the day, Newington Parks and Recreation Superintendent Bill DeMaio said misters were purchased, and large blocks of ice would be left around the outdoor festival.
"The Newington Ambulance Service has two cooling tents, and we are going to be setting those up so people can have refreshing cool mist on them, and they can be out of the sun."
The festival is held on an athletic field in Mill Pond Park. There are trees on the edge of the field, but very little shade near the rides.
Hartford Hospital Senior Emergency Medical Specialist Cynthia Price says children are more susceptible to hot weather than adults.
"Their organs are not as mature as adults, so they don't do heat regulation as well," Price said. "They don't have adequate brain power to know when they are getting thirsty, and to know when to go inside and sit down. They just go until they can't go anymore."
"You should probably be places where there is shade, and where you have adequate sources of hydration," Price said. "Maybe out in the middle of a field is not the best place."
The event runs today through Saturday.
