First responders treat overheated N. Texans, succumb to heat themselves

Fort Worth - Over the weekend seven people were taken to area hospitals because of heat-related illness.

Med Star says it responded to eight calls Saturday with seven people going to the hospital.

Its first heat-related call Sunday was an elderly woman who passed out in the near 100 degree heat.

JoAnna Stephens was just finishing lunch when she noticed the woman having trouble.

“The little lady with the walker couldn't make it anymore. I guess the heat got to her, and I saw her go down,” said Stephens. “I ran inside and got help from the staff.  They brought down a cup of water, wet towels, and I got my sun visor and gave her shade.”

Medics say getting people affected by the heat out of the sun as quickly as possible helps. They suggest getting them in air conditioning and trying to cool them down with water and ice packs.

“A lot of times they'll be profusely sweating, turning red, their heart rate is really elevated, and if they stay out in the heat and don't get help for that, they stop sweating. And that's when they start having problems. That's when people can die from the heat,” said Marshall Sharp with Med Star.

Of the eight heat-related calls Med Star received Saturday, some of them were Fort Worth police officers responding to a barricaded person in the Alexandra meadows neighborhood. The officers were out in triple digit temps in heavy gear for several hours.

“When you blink and you start seeing stars a little bit, when I started doing that, I knew I was going through heat exhaustion,” said Officer S. Cruz Castillo with the Fort Worth Police Department.

Several officers needed IVs, but then something they'd never seen before happened. Neighbors started coming from every direction to help. 

“It was what can we do for the officers, thanks for your service, constant do you need water. We had people bringing fruit, snacks, people opening their homes to us to use the restroom to cool off,” said Detective Bruce Anderson.

The standoff ended without any major injuries and the officers who responded in the heat are not recovering and drinking lots of liquids.