WASHINGTON -
DC officials activated the city's emergency heat plan for the first time today. They do it any time the heat index reaches 95 degrees.
Several people, who ignored the warning to take it easy, ended up needing medical attention.
A window air conditioner at Frances Jordan's house on Delafield Place NW was no match for today's heat.
They had to call an ambulance when her elderly mother fell ill.
"It's pretty large, but the air conditioner couldn't keep up," Jordan says. "My 90 year old mother's in here."
While the ambulance was preparing to take Jordan's mom to the hospital, Delores Gaston who was walking by was overwhelmed by the heat so they took care of her too.
"It's just too hot, I can't take it," Gaston said.
While kids will want to go out and play, no matter how hot it gets, health officials say they are especially vulnerable in this heat.
As part of the city's heat plan, several cooling centers have been opened, and there are a number of spray parks too, shooting out a cooling mist for the heat weary.
And a number of DC pools will be open later than usual this week to help people beat the heat.
"It was so hot, I asked my mom to take me to the pool," Tashia Butler says. "It was so nice and cool in there."
A flat tire couldn't have come at a worse time, for pedicab driver Nicholas Porrecco.
He normally rakes in tons of cash when it's hot and steamy from tourists who'd rather ride than walk in this heat.
The bike itself weighs 250 pounds, and then you add five or six people, and you're pulling 1200 pounds." Porrecco says. "But you do what you have to do to make a living, right?"
Best advice for weathering this heat wave, listen to your body. Instead of running, you just might have to walk.
"I'm only trying to do four miles, but you see, I'm walking," Bob Coffman says. "Tomorrow I'll give it another try."
To find a cooling center near you, you can call the City's non-emergency help line at 311.
