Agenda 03-17-2026; 8-h - Approval of the 2026 Orange County Heat Action Plan

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19 Action 12: Neighbor Check-in Develop a neighbor check-in program. A Neighbor Check-In Program will be piloted to connect the friends and family members of isolated and vulnerable individuals with timely heat alerts,information,and support on hot days.Some individuals are more vulnerable to hot temperatures due to preexisting conditions,age,or resource access. Checking on individuals with higher risk can help prevent heat-related illness and death.Orange County will seek to partner with local organizations to develop and run a system which alerts volunteers to extreme heat emergencies and encourages them to reach out to identified vulnerable individuals-over the phone or in-person-during acute extreme heat events. Action 14:Outdoor Activity Limitations Community Partners: Implement regulations and recommendations to limit outdoor Meals on Wheels,Marian Cheek Jackson Center,PORCH,TABLE,Orange activities. County Department on Aging(DOA),Orange County Department of Social Services(DSS),Affordable Housing and Community Connections To limit the exposure of residents to dangerous heat,Orange County at Town of Chapel Hill,Neighbors on Call,Informal Disability Networks and municipalities will implement a consistent set of regulations and in Neighborhoods(identify point people) recommendations to cancel,suspend,delay or change the timing of previously scheduled activities and events. Action 13:Augmentation of Response Operations Furthermore,they will develop a standard procedure for helping those Augment first response resources to reduce heat stress on first experiencing heat-related health incidents.Outdoor activity limitations responders. will also account for concurrent extreme weather events.Specific activities may include: During extreme heat days,first responders are placed under additional stress.They respond to incidents outdoors with little access to shade • Closing schools early or reducing or eliminating outdoor activities or cooling,often wearing uniforms that do not provide cooling relief. (e.g.,sports,outdoor playgrounds)to limit children's exposure to Orange County Emergency Services and fire departments are working high temperatures to appropriately augment emergency response operations to support • Encouraging children's summer camps to be aware of heat alerts and responders working in extreme heat. move activities inside during dangerous heat An agreement signed by all fire departments in the County designates • Mandating that youth sports practices and games will not take place that an additional fire department will be dispatched on structure outside during the hottest hours of the day throughout the heat fire alarms when there is a heat index of 907 or higher or when there season and that no practices or games will occur during an extreme are increased fire danger alerts.Orange County Emergency Services heat event.Chapel Hill and Carrboro schools currently measure Wet also more rapidly and frequently deploys rehabilitation resources Globe Bulb Temperature to determine whether it is safe to practice to structure fires and other extended-duration outdoor or uncooled and play outdoors and what equipment is allowed based on NCHSAA emergencies during extreme heat events. standards.Other temperature standards will also be evaluated for Community Partners: implementation Volunteer Fire Departments,OC Emergency Services • Canceling outdoor concerts or delaying their start to avoid the hottest times of the day • Closing or delaying outdoor markets or requiring them to have a free and accessible cooling space when temperatures exceed certain thresholds • Heightening prevention activities during outdoor public events(e.g., increasing staffing,distributing additional water bottles,setting up more tents for shade) 17