Phoenix looks to improve heat response plan as summer nears
PHOENIX - On the hottest day of the year so far, the Phoenix City Council met to review heat response plans for this summer.
What we know:
March 25's heat is nothing like what we’ll see at the peak of summer, but even the Phoenix Fire Department said it's responded to a handful of heat illness calls. One person was transported to the hospital.
One common item Corrine Stewart with the Phoenix Rescue Mission says people need is, of course, water.
She drives around looking to help those without shelter on hot days.
"When you’re unsheltered, you move around a lot, and it becomes exhausting in itself. Whether it’s hot or not, the heat adds on like a deadly layer of risk," she said,
Last summer, around half of the heat-related deaths in the Valley were within the homeless community.
By the numbers:
602 died in 2024 in Maricopa County, but it was actually the first drop in numbers year-over-year in a decade. There were 643 heat-related deaths in 2023.
What they're saying:
"We're the tip of the spear. We're the first, most of the times, were the first ones with our hands on somebody suffering a heat emergency," Rob McDade with the Phoenix Fire Department said.
The Phoenix Fire Department gets a lot of the credit for the drop, instituting new cooling bags filled with ice to cool down someone waiting for an ambulance.
"We’re running on people where they’re spiking a core temperature of 106 and 107. Yes, transport to the hospital is going to get them better, but is there anything we could be doing in between?" McDade said.
311 people received that treatment last summer.
The city says extending hours at cooling shelters helped, too.
Phoenix council members met to discuss this year's heat response plan. One change proposed this year is a 24/7 cooling center.
The Phoenix Fire Department's efforts are a big part of this year's plan.
"We're hoping we make an absolute difference in the numbers, and that those heat-related fatalities come down," McDade said.
What you can do:
Click here for more information on relief efforts and tips to stay cool.