Beating the heat

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It is one of the hottest days of the year and a dangerous one at that. As the temperatures climb, so has the number of 911 calls for heat related illnesses. “A lot of the time it is the elderly or people that aren’t looking after themselves. Usually they just need to be hydrated and stay indoors.”
Mark Middleton, Platoon Chief at the Hamilton Fire department told says symptoms of heat illness include dizziness, nausea, vomiting and headaches.  The body does it’s best to regulate body temperature through sweating but in extreme heat, it is sometimes not enough.
“It is really important to identify individuals that may be acting irregular. Heatstroke manifests with an ultralevel of consciousness, so that the person may fall into a coma, or have a seizure.”

Health officials insist people drink plenty of water, take it easy if they’re spending time outdoors and wear plenty of sunscreen.  Edward Harris from Hamilton Paramedic Services says “It can be serious, sunburns are typically a second degree type of burn we do treat that as a second degree burn which requires certain medical intervention and transportation to the hospital.”

Tavia Niesiobedski has been without a working air conditioner for weeks. “Well it’s a very hot summer right now and my air conditioner is broken, it’s a beast, it came with the house when I bought it.” Her unit is more than 30 years old, with temperatures feeling like 40 degrees and with a baby on the way, Niesiobedski decided to call in the experts.

A string of hot and humid days has kept Phillip Bradshaw of Bulletproof Heating & Cooling busy. He says most of his calls are for the same problem. “They are being overworked, more or less when it hits 30 degrees it takes a lot of work for the air conditioners to get the humidity out of the home and this time of year, 2-3 days in a row, with older units they have the potential to break.”

If you can’t beat the heat indoors another option is to head outside to pools and splash pads like Bayfront Park. The city has opened a number of city pools free of charge, so residents can cool off.