Summer Fan Drive & Hot Weather Safety Awareness
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El Paso County Sheriff's Office
3850 Justice Dr. El Paso, Texas 79938
NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Deputy Jesse Tovar / Public Information Officer
(915) 538-2223
Pager: (915) 533-0733 (#5370)
Release Date & Time: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 10:15 am
"Summer Fan Drive & Hot Weather Safety Awareness"
WHO: The Extreme Weather Task Force & Mayor John Cook
WHAT: Summer Fan Drive & Hot Weather Safety Awareness Media Conference
WHEN: 10 a.m., Thursday, May 1, 2008
WHERE: Carolina Senior Citizens Center, 563 N. Carolina
WHY: To raise awareness about hot weather safety and solicit fan donations for the elderly, disabled and needy families.
Information:
With hotter temperatures taking over in May, the Extreme Weather Task Force is soliciting much needed fan donations to help protect the unprotected in our community.
A media conference to kick off the annual “Summer Fan Drive and Hot Weather Safety Awareness” campaign is scheduled for 10 a.m., Thursday, May 1, 2008 at the Carolina Senior Citizens Center, 563 N. Carolina. Mayor John Cook will join members of the Extreme Weather Task Force, a collaboration of local agencies charged with public safety, to discuss the necessary steps we can all take to be prepared for severe summer weather.
Last summer, volunteers with Adult Protective Services delivered 617 free fans to the elderly, disabled and needy families in the El Paso area. “We are estimating more than 1,200 requests for fans during the next 3 months,” said Renate Hobson, APS Community Initiative Specialist. “The elderly and the children suffer the most. Some of the poorest families we see, especially in the Colonias, don’t have any air conditioning in their homes.”
Last year, El Paso had 4 deaths attributed to hot weather.
The Extreme Weather Task Force stresses use of the “Buddy System” to help save lives. “This simply involves having a trusted relative, friend or neighbor check in daily with an elderly or disabled person during a heat wave,” said Hobson. “A Buddy encourages the elderly person to rest, stay cool and drink plenty of fluids. If there are errands to be done, the Buddy does them, or makes sure they get done.”
Besides the elderly and low income families, those most at-risk for heat related illness include: infants under the age of one in homes without air conditioning, the ill and disabled and persons taking certain prescription medications, such as diuretics, sedatives and narcotics.
New fan donations can be dropped off at any local fire station. Monetary donations are welcome can me made payable to the “El Paso Times Extreme Weather Task Force” fund.
Those in need of a fan should call 211 or the Area Agency on Aging at (915) 533-0998.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office will be accepting fan donations at the following locations:
Upper Valley Patrol Station- located at 436 E. Vinton, Vinton , TX (915) 886-2724
Lower Valley Patrol Station- located at 12501 Montana, El Paso, TX (915) 856-4875
Sheriff's Office Headquarters- located 3850 Justice Dr. El Paso, TX (915) 538-2217