Four year old Brenden Thomasy loves to play, but there's one place he won't go, Hart Park.

"It's stupid," said Brenden when we asked him about the park.

As for the reason why he doesn't like the park, Brenden simply says, "Because it burns people's feet." And Brenden would know, because he got third degree burns on his feet on the playground's black rubber mat last September. His mother, Jennifer, was nearby when it happened.

"He took his shoes off because he got sand in them, and as I was getting up to get him he stood on the black mat," she recalled. "I got to him 5 seconds after he hit it."

But that wasn't fast enough, Brenden's feet were already burned.

"My first instinct was 'Why didn't you have your shoes on?!' and then 'Get off the mat!' And he couldn't because he was stuck to it," said Jennifer.

When asked about how bad the burns hurt Brenden said, "So bad!" In fact, the little boy couldn't walk for three weeks.

A pretty serious injury, so Eyewitness News decided to see just how hot the black mats can get. We went out to Hart Park around 1:00pm. At that time our thermometer said the outdoor temperature was 98 degrees Farenheit, but the black mat temperature measured at 123 degrees Farenheit.

That's a big temperature difference, and one Jennifer wants parents should know about. "I just think there needs to be signs put up at the parks," she said.

And even though shoes would have protected Brenden's feet, Jennifer says they wouldn't have protected everything, "That could have been his shins, his arms, his face, his chest, his belly, (the burn) could have been anywhere."

Eyewitness News spoke with Bob Lerude at Kern County Parks and Recreation, which operates Hart Park, about the black rubber mats. Lerude says the material meets the state's safety policies and guidelines and that it's used in many parks. But after hearing about Brenden's injuries, Lerude says he'll take another look at the mat's safety record.