Towns take protective steps in heat wave

Scott Richardson, Springfield’s deputy fire chief and health officer, said the town implemented it’s “at needs” registry Wednesday, checking on those people who signed up for the safety check-in service in the wake of this week’s heat wave.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20100708/NEWS02/707089899                 # # # # Towns take protective steps in heat wave  •  Rutland Herald  •  By Susan Smallheer Staff Writer - Published: July 8, 2010  •  SPRINGFIELD – Scott Richardson, Springfield’s deputy fire chief and health officer, said the town implemented it’s “at needs” registry Wednesday, checking on those people who signed up for the safety check-in service in the wake of this week’s heat wave.Temperatures reached the 90s for the third day in a row on Wednesday. Richardson said 25 residents had signed up earlier for the service, and he said all 25 people were successfully contacted by telephone.  •  If the people hadn’t answered their phones, members of the fire department would have gone to check on the people personally.  •  “We called them all,” he said.  •  Richardson said thermometers hit 95 degrees by midafternoon, with a heat index pushing the temperature to 98 degrees. He said that there were also air quality and heat advisories issued.  •  Richardson said that the town wouldn’t open cooling centers unless there was a power outage, affecting residential or business air conditioning.  •  Brattleboro issued a public service announcement Wednesday afternoon as the heat wave continued, urging residents to head to Brooks Memorial Library or the Gibson-Aiken senior center, both on Main Street, to cool off. The town also noted that the town pool was operating during normal hours.  •  The town asked citizens to check on neighbors or people particularly vulnerable to the heat, and said that people should call 911 if there is concern about the welfare of others.  •  The town also said that no animals should be left inside vehicles for any period of time and said that police would remove animals left in vehicles and owners would be charged with cruelty to animals.  •  At this time, the Red Cross is not operating cooling stations in Brattleboro.  •