A heat wave is bearing down on large parts of America, forcing emergency workers to prepare for what could be record-breaking numbers of people in heat distress.
An excessive heat watch was in effect for southern New England, where forecasters warned of dangerous heat and humidity starting on Tuesday and lasting through Friday. It’s the first severe heat wave of the year for that part of the country.
When temperatures rise, it’s easy to overheat and, when that happens, important to cool off fast. Elevated body temperatures can cause brain damage, organ failure and, in severe cases, death.
“In heat exhaustion, the goal is to cool as quickly as you can,” said Dr. Aisha Terry, an associate professor of emergency medicine and health policy at George Washington University Hospital in Washington and president of the American College of Emergency Physicians. “There are definitely some health conditions where we have to be mindful of how quickly we correct the abnormality. This is not one of them.”
In all, millions of people across the United States are under extreme heat advisories. And if you think the country is getting hotter, it’s not your imagination. Between May 2023 and May 2024, the average American experienced 39 days of abnormally high temperatures as a result of climate change, scientists reported last month. That’s 19 more days than in a hypothetical world without human-caused warming.
Here’s how emergency medical workers are adapting to the risks.
Are paramedics preparing differently?
Emergency medical workers and local officials across the country are spreading the word about cooling centers and swimming pools and stocking up on bottles of water to hand out to help offer relief from soaring temperatures and muggy weather.
New cooling methods can be relatively simple: Some emergency vehicles are now equipped with canopies that offer makeshift shade for heat victims who need a bit of relief from the sun.
“If they’re outside, move them into shade,” said Jeffrey Gruenglas, an emergency medical technician in West Barnstable, Mass. “You could put the A.C. on in the ambulance and then put them in there.”
Paramedics in some areas carry ice packs to place in patients’ underarm and groin areas as a way of quickly cooling off. Another effective tactic: place wet towels across as much skin surface as possible. In some cities, emergency workers carry blankets to place on the ground. They shift victims there while treating them instead of leaving them on scalding concrete or asphalt that can cause severe burns.
“I’ve had times where I could literally feel the heat coming through my shoes,” said Chris Hoyer, a retired Phoenix police officer who now trains other officers.
Police officers, whose vehicles aren’t readily equipped with the same kinds of life-saving gear as ambulances, can stock their cars with bottles of water or let heat victims sit in their air-conditioned vehicles, he said. Mr. Hoyer said he recalled seeing officers encircling heat victims to shield them from the sun until paramedics arrive.
Have innovative treatments emerged?
Some doctors and researchers are preaching what they say is a better and faster way to help bring down body temperatures: immersing heat victims in ice water.
In Arizona, Texas and other areas, emergency responders are carrying large plastic bags, or even body bags, that serve as ice cocoons. The bags are filled with ice cubes and water and zipped up around patients to about their chest area for about 15 to 20 minutes or so until they cool to safe levels.
The technique has been used for years to cool overheated soldiers or athletes facing heat stroke. In Phoenix, where record-breaking temperatures last year killed 645 people, fire trucks and ambulances all carry specially designed “immersion bags” to help victims who are overheated.
But even toddler pools filled with ice and water can serve the purpose. The key is to work as quickly as possible to cool victims, doctors said.
There has been widespread fear that immersion could provoke a stroke or heart attack by cooling the body too quickly. But cold-water immersion can bring down body temperatures quickly with little risk of causing other problems, researchers said, particularly if body temperature is monitored closely with a rectal thermometer.
What else do emergency workers need to think about?
Themselves. The people who are treating treat heat victims can also become heat victims. Firefighters are loaded down with heavy, hot equipment. Paramedics can overheat carrying victims to ambulances.
Hydration is key, and not just for humans but also for the specially trained dogs that sometimes work with police officers. The fastest, best method for cooling an overheated dog, according to some researchers, is also immersion. “There were multiple times when canines were out on the scene, and I’d put the dog in a backyard pool,” Mr. Hoyer said.