A new BC Coroners Service report examining last year’s heat dome calls for greater support for populations at risk during extreme heat emergencies.
The report also highlighted a delay between the issuance of heat alerts by Environment Canada and the response from public agencies and the general public.
Temperatures exceeded 40 ° C for days during the heatwave, when most of those who died included elderly and vulnerable people living in air-conditioned buildings.
The review, titled Extreme Heat and Human Mortality: A Review of Heat-Related Deaths in BC in Summer 2021, investigated the more than 800 deaths reported in the province from June 25 to July 1, 2021.
He found that 619 were related to heat. Forensic figures released in November said the deaths of 595 people between June 18 and August 12 were related to the heat.
The heat wave affects some communities differently
Dr. Jatinder Baidwan, medical director of the BC Forensic Service, said some people face a greater risk during extreme heat.
According to the report, two-thirds of these heat-related deaths occurred among people aged 70 and over, while more than 80% of those who died were in three or more chronic disease registries.
Fifty-six percent of those who died lived alone, while almost all of the deaths, 98 percent, occurred indoors.
“Most of the dead were elderly adults with compromised health due to multiple chronic illnesses and living alone,” the report says.
Most of the dead were in homes without proper cooling systems, such as air conditioners or fans, the report added, and “more of the dead lived in socially or materially disadvantaged neighborhoods than the general population.”
The report calls for the identification and support of vulnerable populations.
Baidwan said this could include inspecting vulnerable people and providing them with refrigeration equipment such as fans and air conditioners. The report identified as a priority a review to be conducted by provincial officials on the issuance of refrigeration devices as medical equipment before December 1st.
Baidwan noted that if it is not possible to bring equipment to people’s homes during a heat wave, it may be better to move people to cooling centers.
Baidwan said the public and public agencies may have been slow to understand the gravity of the situation.
“Essentially, people didn’t take it as seriously as we might think now that we should have taken it,” he said. “We’re all guilty of that.”
He said the report was “specifically vague” about public agencies because “we’re talking about all agencies.”
The report said the number of 911 calls doubled at the peak of the heat dome. He said 54 percent of the dome heat cases were treated by paramedics with an average response time of 10 minutes and 25 seconds.
In 50 cases, paramedics took 30 minutes or more from the time of the call to the time of arrival. 911 calls were put on hold for an extended period of 17 times. Six callers were told that no ambulance was available at the time of the call.
An alert system is needed
Badiwan said better public messaging and an alert system could help the public better understand the risks associated with extreme heat.
The report identified the need for a coordinated heat alert response system as announced by the province on Monday.
BC’s planned heat alert and response system will include two categories: heat warnings and extreme heat emergency alerts, Public Safety Secretary Mike Farnworth said Monday.
The government is ready to issue extreme heat emergency alerts to mobile devices through the national prepared alert system, which is already used to issue amber alerts and warnings of tsunamis, forest fires and floods, the security minister said. Public, Mike Farnworth.
“There will be a lot more notifications, a lot more in the media and a lot more communication with local governments,” Farnworth said Monday.
Baidwan said security warnings are required for all British Colombians, but some members of the population will require additional interventions. There is a need for greater public awareness and training on how to recognize heat issues, he said, as well as wellness controls.
“How many of us … did we actually take the time to go knock on someone’s door and ask if he was okay?” said Baidwan. “How many of us realized that there really was a significant heat event in fact?”
Longer term planning
The plan also called for long-term planning to build homes and communities equipped to cope with the warmer weather. Building codes in BC focus primarily on dealing with cold weather. That needs to change, Baidwan said, and the codes should reflect the need to address heat by encouraging passive and active cooling in new and existing homes.
Communities in general should try to increase green space and shaded areas, Baidwan said.