During a heat event

If you need health related information, please call 8-1-1 for support. If you or a loved one are already connected to a Fraser Health community support service, please reach out to your provider.

If you would like to be connected to social or community services, please call 2-1-1.

If you or a loved one is in distress, please call 9-1-1.

• Drink plenty of water even before you feel thirsty and stay in a cool place.
• Know the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke and how to respond.
• Check in with friends, family and neighbours, especially those who may be more susceptible to heat illness, who are living alone and without air conditioning.
• If you have a window air conditioner, place it in a room you can close off from the rest of your home. Use the room as your cooling off space and try to stay in there as much as possible during the hottest parts of the day.
• It can get dangerously, life-threateningly hot indoors without air conditioning (AC). If it reaches 31 degrees Celsius indoors, it is time to relocate to a cool, shady outdoor space, a community cooling centre, or stay with a friend or family.
• If you don’t have AC at home, there are some other things you can do to stay cool:
  
  • Take lukewarm baths/showers to cool down. Even footbaths can help.
  • Wear a wet shirt or apply damp towels to your skin.
  • Keep your home cooler by shading the windows from the outside using awnings or shutters or from the inside using curtains or blinds (wherever possible).
  • Seek a cool place such as a tree-shaded area, swimming pool, shower/bath, or air-conditioned spot like a public building.
  • Stay with friends or family who have air conditioning or a basement.
• Fans in the window can provide indoor cooling when the temperature outside is lower than the temperature inside. However, in high heat, fans aimed at people do not bring down our body temperatures significantly, particularly for people who already have impaired cooling responses. At temperatures of 35C or higher, fans can actually increase body temperature.
  • For more information, read our fan FAQ.
• For people who are elderly or have pre-existing conditions, fans are not recommended during heat warning events, as people may feel cooler on the outside while not cooling down on the inside. In these cases it is important to monitor temperatures and take the precautions on this page.
• Schedule outdoor activities only during the coolest time of the day, avoiding 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. when temperatures and sunlight are at their highest.
• If you must exercise, drink two to four glasses of non-alcoholic fluids each hour. Limit outdoor activity during the day to early morning and evening.
• Never leave people or pets inside a parked vehicle during warm weather.
• If you have children in your home, make sure you’ve taken precautions to prevent falls from windows and balconies.