FORT MYERS, Fla. — Staying safe outside during the Southwest Florida heat is a task Floridians have to face, but for high school athletes, pushing the limit on hot days can be deadly.
Keeping high school athletes safe during Southwest Florida heat waves, is Zachary Martin’s lasting legacy.
Ty Roland, a senior partner for the firm of Aloia, Roland, Lubell & Morgan, PLLC represented Zachary Martin's family in 2017 after Zach a Riverdale High School football player died of a heat stroke during a summer practice.
“What happened to Zach and what’s happened to countless other children on the ball field is totally needless,” said Roland.
A needless tragedy six years ago, but in 2020, the Zachary Martin Act was signed into state law by Governor Ron Desantis.
The Zachary Martin Act requires ice tubs and Wet Bulb Globe devices to be at sports activities and other safety protocols.
Fox 4 certified meteorologist Katie Walls said Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) is a measure of the heat stress in direct sunlight, which takes into account: temperature, humidity, wind speed, sun angle, and cloud cover (solar radiation).
Walls said this differs from the heat index, which takes into consideration temperature and humidity and is calculated for shady areas.
Fox 4 saw the wet bulb in action earlier this month during an interview with Gulf Coast High School in Collier County. Click here for more on that story.
From the Zachary Martin Act, Southwest Florida teams are working harder and brighter during the days with excessive heat.
Simply put, it is an act of protection for our student-athletes.
“I would like to think that might be his legacy he is a protector and that's what comes through that Zach Martin Act. It’s keeping kids safer on our ball fields,” said Roland.
“If you are an athletic director, a coach, if you are a parent with a child out there first one that reaches out to me, I will get you two. I will get you one for your team and the chances are you are gonna know a coach who is out there looking out for kids somewhere else and you can pass another one on to them,” said Roland.
