This post has been updated to include a second heat-related hospitalization.
The Arkadelphian
GUM SPRINGS, Arkansas — Emergency officials in Clark County responded to two heat-related medical calls Wednesday afternoon, Sheriff Jason Watson said.
The first call came shortly after 2 p.m., when paramedics were summoned to Drumco, a plant in the county’s industrial park that reconditions containers for reuse. Dispatchers broadcast an alert that a person in the plant’s shipping/receiving area was unresponsive due to heat. Watson said that when paramedics arrived the employee was cooling down in a break room, and then transported “non-emergent” to Baptist Health Medical Center in Arkadelphia.
A little after 6 p.m. an ambulance crew was dispatched to Davidson Campground in Okolona, where a week-long annual revival encampment was being held, for a heat-related call of an elderly male. That person was also taken to the hospital for monitoring, the sheriff said.
The pair of heat-related medical emergencies brings the threat close to home, especially as practice began recently for varsity and college football.
While the high temperature in Arkadelphia reached 100 degrees, factoring in the humidity put the heat index at 113, according to the National Weather Service in Little Rock.
Heat is the top weather-related killer in the U.S., beating out hurricanes, floods, lightning and tornadoes, NWS warns.
Residents are warned to take necessary precautions to avoid heat-related illness.