The Arizona Republic Phoenix Community edition features a monthly column written by Fire Chief Bob Khan
City
of Phoenix Public Information Office - News Clippings - azcentral.com
- June 7, 2008
Valley's summer heat can cause problems
I recently attended a meeting on the east coast and many of my colleagues in the fire service asked about Phoenix. It seemed their questions centered around whether it had hit 100 degrees yet.
It occurred to me that to Eastern firefighters who experience hoses that freeze to the ground, Phoenix’s triple-digit temperatures must add a new dimension to firefighting and can be just as challenging.
My message as we head into the summer months is really two fold. To our Phoenix firefighters who are on the line running 450-plus calls a day, we need to recognize this dramatic climate change and make adjustments. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that firefighters are among some of the most physically fit people who are working in the City of Phoenix. However, we are all human! Our summer temperatures, combined with surface street calls and fighting fire, can be brutal and take its toll on even the most physically fit firefighters.
Remembering that literally in the heat of battle temperatures inside a structure fire can reach approximately 1,000 degrees and that our firefighters are wearing up to 70 pounds of equipment, you can see how this can be exhausting work. Our firefighters need to know when to slow down, ask for relief and start to cool down their core temperatures by drinking water and resting. These characters have an incredible drive and if not reminded to take care of themselves can and have worked until they collapse from dehydration. So, as a grumpy summertime fire chief, my message is to slow down, get help, and drink lots of water. I’m always worried about their safety, but the summer months are even more dangerous.
To folks not in the fire service, we need to remind them, whether they are second or third generation Arizonans or new to the valley, that 110 degrees is an oven. Climbing Camelback Mountain, mowing the yard, riding your bike, or chasing after the kids can sneak up and take its toll on you. So let’s be smart about the heat. Do exercise or hard work in the early mornings. Drink lots of water. Wear a ball cap. Use sunscreen. Remember, alcohol and caffeine can dehydrate you and toddlers and seniors don’t regulate their body temperatures nearly as well as the rest of us. Sometimes they don’t know they are in trouble until it is too late.
For years now I’ve said that if you’re doing yard work or if you’re on a mountain trail and you feel dizzy or lightheaded, go with your instincts. Find some shade, stop what you are doing and cool down. This can happen to anybody at any time in the Sonoran Desert. The Phoenix Fire Department will usually respond to about 700 heat-related calls in a typical year. So far, we’ve only been on 50 in 2008. So, if you do the math, we’re going to see about 650 sick people from heat over the next few months. Please try to avoid being one of those statistics.
If you go to our website, http://phoenix.gov/FIRE, you can get some more tips on heat-related safety. In the end, it’s pretty basic information. But it can save you a trip to the hospital for dehydration, heat exhaustion or even heat stroke, which can be fatal.
The summer is a fun time in Arizona - we just need to be smart about outdoor activities. To a certain extent, think of it as a heat blizzard. Be safe!
Send comments to Bob Khan at firechief.pfd@phoenix.gov or call (602) 26-CHIEF.