UPDATED 5:22 P.M.
PEORIA, Ill. – No matter what the temperatures are, such as the extreme heat gripping central Illinois this week, the job of a firefighter doesn’t stop.
Temperatures this week have reached the high 90s, with the chance to break 100 on Friday. Heat index values have been in the triple digits.
Two firefighters were taken to a local hospital for heat exhaustion, while battling a fire at two houses in the area of Arago and Starr Streets in South Peoria Friday. Both were expected to be treated and released.
Peoria Fire Chief Shawn Sollberger says companies in the department are responding to more than 20 calls a day. When they do, he says they’re usually outside, wearing an extra 75-80 pounds of equipment, for time periods that average 45 minutes to an hour.
Because of that, Sollberger says they prepare for the intense heat they experience by doing things they can control.
“Whether that’s hydrating properly, being in tip-top condition, all those things factor into that,” Sollberger said. “Eating properly, making sure that our nutrition’s on-point. And for the most part, those type of variables that we control and we do a pretty good job of it.”
Sollberger says temperatures inside fires they must put out get as high as 1000 degrees. And he says with temperatures and heat indexes as high as they are this week, firefighters do not see much relief when they get done battling blazes.
Sollberger notes that they also have firefighters keep an eye on each other while on scene, which includes looking for signs that heat is affecting someone, such as dilated pupils and elevated breathing.
Keeping the entire department safe from the heat involves more than just the firefighters on the front lines. Sollberger says they have to keep dogs in the department cool as well.
“We try to keep them in a controlled environment as much as possible too. We try to keep them in the vehicles less, even though we have pretty good cooling and heating systems built into those trucks,” Sollberger said. “But, it’s the same concept, whether we’re talking about a human being or these dogs that we’re trying to expose them to these conditions less. So we’re trying to keep them in-house as much as possible.”
Sollberger says it’s the same for their fire investigators, who they try to give more clerical work. But he says it’s difficult for them since a lot of their work must be done on scene.
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