With an extreme heat warning in effect, medical professionals say the populations most at-risk to suffer heat-related issues are children and the elderly.
So a power outage at a nursing home set off alarm bells, literally. The Residence of Dania Beach, an assisted living facility with 120 residents, lost power Wednesday morning, and firefighters rushed to the scene.
“Very uncomfortable, extremely uncomfortable at this point,” said Jorge Gonzalez, a resident at the facility.
Broward Sheriff’s Fire Rescue responded and helped move the residents to another building on the campus that had not lost electricity, a building which still had crucially important air conditioning.
“Certainly a risk, especially in the summertime when you have temperatures outside in the 90s; that’s why you have to act very promptly, as we did,” explained Battalion Chief Michael Kane.
The fast work paid off as no one suffered any medical issues from the sweltering heat. How bad was it inside?
“Bad enough where it’s very, very hot, and of course, we have people that’s on oxygen and older people who need their air conditioner,” Gonzalez said.
“It can get uncomfortable, but I guess it happened so quick that I didn’t get to experience it. I came outside,” said resident Lee Gutierrez, who said it was cooler outside in the shade than inside without air conditioning.
There’s a reason why firefighters react so quickly to situations like this. The tragedy that happened in Hollywood during Hurricane Irma, when a power outage led to 14 elderly residents dying in the heat, left an indelible impression on first responders. At first, they thought today’s situation in Dania Beach had the potential to be dangerous.
“Classic case, and there have been situations in the past where power was out in assisted living facilities, lessons were learned that those residents need to be relocated as soon as possible,” Kane said.
Because the staff at the facility and firefighters reacted quickly, no one suffered any heat-related issues.