The Oklahoman
BETHANY, Okla. — Emergency Medical Services Authority paramedics responded to 19 heat-related calls by 7 p.m. Saturday, a number that spokeswoman Lara O’Leary said is the highest in recent memory.
Four of the calls came from the Spin Your Wheels cycling event at The Children’s Center in Bethany, O’Leary said. Four more were from an event at the Zoo Amphitheatre.
The National Weather Service reported temperatures at Will Rogers World Airport above 100 degrees for the fourth straight day and for the ninth time in the first 14 days of August.
O’Leary said weekend activities explain the spike in the number of calls. EMSA responded to just one call directly related to heat Friday.
“Friday, people were at work, but when the weekend comes they want to take advantage of their free time and do the things they love,” she said. O’Leary said 17 calls is a baseline number because many of the calls that come into EMSA dispatch are coded differently. For example, someone mowing their lawn might have chest pains because of exposure to extreme heat, but the call is coded as a possible heart attack.
“It’s a minimal reflection of the true number of calls that come in that are caused by heat,” she said. “And it’s an astounding number, the most we can remember.”
A heat alert EMSA officials issued last week will continue because of the high call volume Saturday, O’Leary said. The alert will remain in effect until temperatures drop significantly, she said.
All of the state except for the Panhandle is under either a heat advisory or an excessive heat warning, according to the National Weather Service.
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