County, city open pools, beaches longer. Senior centers, Red Cross offer air conditioned rooms for relief. Check on vulnerable neighbors, friends, official asks
Syracuse, NY -- As Central New York braces for what’s expected to be a third consecutive day of sweltering heat today, doctors and public health officials are urging people to take precautions to avoid heat-related illness or deaths.
A hot, humid air mass lingering over Central New York is expected to crank the temperature up to the mid-90s today and Thursday before dropping back to the high 80s Friday.
Since Sunday, the emergency room at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center has seen a higher than usual number of patients coming in with heat-related illnesses, including some older people with heat stroke, the most serious heat disorder. “They fainted after being in the heat for a prolonged period of time,” said Dr. Therese M. Whitt, the head of emergency services at St. Joe’s.
The elderly, young children and people with chronic lung and heart problems are particularly vulnerable to the heat.
The longer the heat wave lasts, the greater the risk is for older people who live alone in apartments without air conditioning, said Dr. Richard Steinmann, director of emergency services at Crouse Hospital. “They sit and cook for a couple days,” Steinmann said. “It tends to be a cumulative sort of thing. Then someone comes in and finds grandpa passed out with a temperature of 108.”
Anyone with prolonged exposure to heat who begins to exhibit signs of altered mental status needs immediate emergency medical care at a hospital, he said.
Heat kills about 175 Americans annually.
Case managers for the Onondaga Department of Aging and Youth and Meals on Wheels volunteers are checking on vulnerable clients, said Lisa Alford, the department’s commissioner.
“We’re asking people to check on their neighbors and friends who they feel may be at risk,” Alford said.
She advised people looking for relief to go to public libraries, shopping malls and senior centers. People can call her department at 435-2362 to find out which senior centers are open late.
The Ida Benderson Senior Center at 205 S. Salina St. in Syracuse will stay open until 7 p.m. today and Thursday. People looking to beat the heat also can cool off at the American Red Cross office at 220 Herald Place in Syracuse which will be open to the public from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. today and Thursday.
The heat wave prompted Syracuse to keep all city swimming pools, except for the one at Burnet Park, open until 8 p.m. through Thursday.
Onondaga County has extended its hours and offered free admission to Oneida Shores Park and Jamesville Beach Park on Wednesday and Thursday. The beaches will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Low-income Onondaga County residents who qualify for federal Home Energy Assistance Program, or HEAP, benefits may be eligible for free window air conditioners. Catholic Charities of Onondaga County runs the program.
In addition to being eligible for HEAP, applicants must have a doctor’s note attesting to the need for air conditioning for anyone in their family. Catholic Charities installs the units.
On average, Syracuse gets 7.8 days a year when temperatures hit 90 degrees or more, according to the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell. Tuesday was Syracuse’s fourth day in the 90s so far this year. The temperature hit a high of 93 st 4 p.m. Tuesday, following a high of 94 Monday.
The National Weather Service issued a heat advisory for the region Tuesday and is expected to do the same today. The advisory is a warning that the high temperatures can trigger heat illnesses.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation also issued an air quality advisory Tuesday, which means ozone levels can bother people who exercise outdoors, young children and people with breathing problems.
There was no escape from the heat Tuesday for Central New Yorkers who work outdoors.
James Edelstein, who runs Wyllie Fox Farm, an organic vegetable and herb farm in Cayuga County, was one of them. He said sweat was “running down my elbow” as he was watering tomato plants under a plastic greenhouse area. “It’s beyond hot,” Edelstein said. “While it’s 90 outside, it’s probably over 100 here under the plastic.”
At Thornden Park in Syracuse, Paul Motondo, owner of P & K Outdoor Services, rode his lawn mower up and down the hills. Some of his employees were at the truck, taking a water break. Motondo did not complain. "They thought ahead. They brought coolers, they brought water. ... I told them to stay hydrated and take frequent breaks,” Montondo said.
On South Crouse Avenue, foreman Billy Byrnes of J.J. Lane construction wiped his hands on his sleeveless orange t-shirt. He and a team of five construction workers were repairing a sewer failure.
With hardly any shade, Byrnes encouraged his men to take a water break every hour. “Either it’s 20 below or 90 (degrees),” Byrnes said. “Either way, it has to be done.”
William Van Derhoof, president of Van Derhoof Roofing Co., sent his roofers home at 1 p.m. Tuesday because of the heat. He expects to do the same today. “They start early and end early and, you know, it gets too hot to go to much further,” Van Derhoof said. “It’s tough on us. We can’t get our jobs done on time, it just causes us to lose time.”
Staff writers John Mariani, Debra Groom and Fernando Alfonso also contributed to this report.
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» Energy advisory: Syracuse-area companies asked to reduce power use
» Free admission Wednesday and Thursday at Oneida Shores and Jamesville Beach