How Palm Springs Fire Department helps patients in dangerous desert heat

The continuous triple digit heat has posed some challenges for first responders.

Matt Hein, an engineer and paramedic with Palm Springs Fire Department says, "It can be brutal. There's days where it's super uncomfortable."

First responders like Hein carry out medical aid, respond to fires and car wrecks daily while wearing their yellow coats.

"Three layers that are designed to keep us safe from heat. But they also do not let us breathe and keep in a lot of our own moisture. So you're gassed, you're sweating, you're tired, pretty quick, 10,15 minutes in you're feeling it," says Hein.

Crews stay hydrated and get more frequent breaks than they would in the Summer months.

"Get that coat off, get some of that heat off your body," say Hein.

Palm Springs Fire Department brings out this incident support unit to fires and other calls to provide relief.

"It's kind of a cooling center, we have some chairs we can sit on, we have cooling vests that are kept in the ice chest and stay cool, so we can put them on us. We have fans that help cool us down, we have a shade for us out there and just a lot of fluids to drink," says Captain Nathan Gunkel.

The paramedic team also carries extra IV bags in coolers for dehydrated patients this time of year.

"We're not putting in these these hot IV bags that are 100 degrees to start with to someone that's already having the heat related emergency," says Captain Nathan Gunkel.

Overall the department says people have been following their heat safety tips this Summer.

Most of their heat exhaustion calls as of late have been for visitors who aren't used to the heat or haven't adequately prepared.