Paramedic crews are getting more heat-related calls in recent weeks, and Hamilton’s fire chief and Atrium Medical Center in Middletown are encouraging people to check on friends or family who live alone, especially those who don’t have air conditioning.
Forecasters are predicting that except for Tuesday and Wednesday, highs are expected to be in the 90s for the next several days. “In the five-day period from June 27 through July 1, we had 279 calls,” a 37 percent rise over last year, said Hamilton Fire Chief Mark Mercer. It’s difficult to know exactly how many of those were heat-related, but Mercer said he has a sense heat was a factor in that jump. Overdoses of heroin and other opioids were not a significant factor in the increase, he said.