PHOENIX — The City of Phoenix is using 911 data for heat-related calls to help guide outreach to the most vulnerable during the heat.
This year's record-breaking heat in Phoenix comes after a brutal 2022, where there was a 25% increase in heat-related deaths and a nearly 14% increase in heat-related 911 calls.
The City of Phoenix has outlined in its ‘Summer 2023 Heat Response Plan’ that they hope will reduce both deaths and 911 calls.
GOAL 1: Reduce the number of heat-associated deaths in the City of Phoenix compared to 2022.
Heat-associated deaths in Phoenix are those that occur to city residents with a place of injury in any location, or other cases with a place of injury in the city limits regardless of residency.
Case data is collected and reported by the Maricopa County Department of Public Health and is typically available in the early spring of the following year.
GOAL 2: Reduce the number of calls for service to the Phoenix Fire Department related to heat, compared to 2022.
Service calls related to heat include those with a specific nature code for “heat” as well as other nature codes that have been shown to occur more frequently when hot weather occurs.
Case data is collected and reported by the Phoenix Fire Department and is available within several weeks of the incidents.
ABC15 went out with the Phoenix Fire Department on a day when temperatures reached over 110° as they responded to several 911 heat-related calls.
Firefighters were dispatched to a business where a man, who was working in the sun for nine hours, was experiencing illness from the heat.
“I haven’t been this hot in a long time, it just took over,” said Larry Bass.
Bass was taken to the hospital by ambulance as a precaution.
ABC15 went through Phoenix's 911 data for 2023 and mapped out the locations of calls for service for heat.
Take a look at the interactive map below.
The biggest concentration comes from near the city's largest homeless encampment in downtown Phoenix and along Interstate 17 near Northern Avenue.
David Hondula is the director of the City of Phoenix Office of Heat Response and Mitigation, which uses the 911 data to guide their heat relief efforts.
“We're trying to get ahead of their work when they're responding, it's already too late,” Hondula said.
The Office of Heat Response and Mitigation uses volunteers to hand out cooling supplies for the most vulnerable heat groups with the goal of connecting those in extreme temperatures with a cooling center.
RELATED: Heat relief stations open around the Valley for summer 2023
Hondula's office says heat-related calls to date have decreased from 2023 compared to 2022. Phoenix had a cooler June, the officer looked at two 12-day stretches when the average temperatures were around 112°.
From July 8 to July 19 of 2022, the Phoenix Fire Department responded to 327 calls.
During a 12-day stretch in 2023, from June 30 to July 11, the Phoenix Fire Department responded to 230 calls.
However, a week after looking at the data, the Phoenix Fire Department says they are seeing a 20% increase in July.
The heat is no joke.
— Phoenix Fire Dept. (@PHXFire) July 18, 2023
Heat-related calls have jumped nearly 20% from this time last year. Please stay safe and play it smart during this excessive heat wave sweeping through the Valley. #PHXFire pic.twitter.com/ysH4iDAcJk
It is unknown how many lives have been lost during the current heat wave in Maricopa County, as investigations could take weeks or even months.
However, so far for 2023, there have been 12 confirmed heat deaths with 55 under investigation as of July 8.
