Beat The Heat: Agency Lists Air-Conditioned Locations Open To Public
By ASHLIE OSBURN
Staff Writer
As cost of food, fuel and utilities are on the rise, many Tyler residents live with little or no air conditioning during the hot Texas summer.
Staff Writer
As cost of food, fuel and utilities are on the rise, many Tyler residents live with little or no air conditioning during the hot Texas summer.
Fortunately, the city of Tyler has a Heat Emergency Plan in effect for those citizens living in such hot conditions.
“The plan was devised in response to some long, hot summer days,” said Brenda Elrod, environmental health director with the Northeast Texas Public Health District. “(Hot temperatures) is a real danger, people die from heat stroke.” From 1979 to 2003, a reported 8,015 Americans have died due to heat-related illnesses. That number is higher than deaths caused from hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, floods and earthquakes combined, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Due to such facts and relentless Texas heat, a committee of Tyler residents devised the plan in 1998 for public awareness of air-conditioned locations around the city open to the public, Ms. Elrod said.
Some of those locations include the Salvation Army, PATH, participating churches, Broadway Square Mall, senior centers and pools, the library and other public buildings and locations.
Copies of the Heat Emergency Plan are available upon request at the Northeast Texas Public Health District.
People Attempting To Help (PATH) aids in providing a cooler summer through its “Fan Club.” The club is currently accepting donations of 20” to 30” box fans, which are distributed to the frail and elderly.
The Salvation Army can also provide air-conditioned shelter for up to 150 people in its Community Center and offers two lounges within the main lodge located at 633 N. Broadway Ave., when temperatures rise over 100 degrees, said lodge manager John Voight. “Since we’ve had a shelter we’ve let people come in and get out of the heat,” he said.
Voight said the Salvation Army is currently accepting box fan donations for its fan drive.
Rachel Hatt, director of public relations for Meals on Wheels, said when volunteers deliver meals they check the surroundings and environment of the meal recipient to ensure living conditions are adequate.
“Our volunteers aren’t someone who just takes meals to a door, they also are a safety check system,” Ms. Hatt previously said.
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