B.C. paramedics brace for more hot weather
Temperatures in parts of B.C.’s Interior are forecast to be close to 40 degrees this week, just weeks after the province sweltered through a record-breaking heat wave.
According to Environment Canada, Kamloops is expected to reach 38 degrees on Tuesday, and highs of 37 are predicted for Kelowna.
On Saturday, meteorologist Doug Lundquist told CTV News Environment Canada was “close to issuing another heat warning” for some areas. On Sunday, the weather agency did issue heat warnings for the Fraser Canyon, Cariboo, 100 Mile and South Thompson regions.
“I want to stress it’s nothing like what we saw in June, but my concern is that it’s ongoing,” Lundquist said.
Temperatures across Metro Vancouver will also be a few degrees above the seasonal average this week.
According to BC Emergency Health Services, June 28 saw a record high for 911 calls, with paramedics responding to 1,975 medical emergencies. Meanwhile, 911 dispatchers have been receiving more than 3,000 calls a day, which is more than double the usual.
Numbers from BCEHS show that – over the weekend of the heat wave in late June – paramedics responded to 187 calls for heat exhaustion and 52 calls for heat stroke.
“That weekend was incredible from two perspectives: The pressure on paramedics and dispatchers from the incredibly high number of extra calls that they had, but also working in that heat,” said Troy Clifford, president of Ambulance Paramedics and Dispatchers of B.C.
Since then, call volumes have subsided, but are still around 25 per cent higher than average, according to Clifford, who said low staffing levels and fatigue are still major issues.
On Saturday night, Clifford says, 20 ambulance vehicles in the Greater Vancouver area were out of service.
“That represents around 20 per cent of our ambulances not staffed and that’s pretty consistent with what we’ve seen,” he said. “We’ve seen peaks of 30 per cent.”
When asked if he was concerned about paramedics through the summer, Clifford said he was “absolutely worried” about patients, but said the union has been working with the province to improve staffing levels moving forward.
With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Allison Hurst
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.