Staying Safe in Scorching Heat

It’s been an especially hot week in Rockland County, including heat advisories, and with summer far from over we want to remind families to be extremely careful.

Hot temperatures can cause heat stroke, the most serious heat-related illness. A heat stroke occurs when the body can’t control its temperature and if untreated, can damage your brain, heart, kidneys, and muscles.

Signs and symptoms of heatstroke include high body temperature (104 F or higher), altered mental state (Confusion, agitation, slurred speech, delirium), nausea and vomiting, flushed skin, rapid breathing, racing heart rate, and headaches.

As a former police commander with the NYPD and Chief of Detectives in Baltimore, I know just how quickly an emergency can go from dangerous to deadly and I don’t want to see something like that happen to anyone here in Rockland.

There are many steps to protect yourself and your family to prevent or reduce heat-related problems with the following tips:

• Never leave children, pets, or people with special needs in a parked car, even briefly. Temperatures in the car can become dangerous within a few minutes, so motorists should always check no one is left inside their vehicle before locking it up.
• Use air-conditioning to cool down. If you do not have air conditioning, spend time in air-conditioned places such as libraries, movie theaters, malls, town and village halls, or other public buildings during the hottest hours of the day. Cooling centers are places where people may go to cool down during hot weather. Before going to a place to cool down, it’s important to call ahead to make sure it’s open.
• Drink plenty of fluids – don’t wait until you are thirsty to drink more fluids.
• Beat the heat with cool showers and baths.
• Stay out of the sun as much as possible.
• Wear loose, lightweight, light-colored clothing to help keep cool.
• Wear sunscreen and a lightweight hat (straw or mesh is best) outdoors, even if it is cloudy.
• Check on your neighbors, such as older adults or those in poor health, to see if they need assistance.
• Pets can suffer from heat-related illness too. Roads, sidewalks, and gravel can get very hot and burn your pet’s paws, so keep walks to a minimum and on the grass if possible, along with lots of water.

There are several public spaces that allow visitors to come in an cool down on a hot day. For the list of cooling locations head to our website:
https://rocklandgov.com/cooling-centers1/