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| The largest EMS crew is located in Bay City, although most of the outlying communities also have volunteer EMS crews. EMS Director Eddie Callendar has a top level staff of paramedics trained to handle all medical emergencies. The Bay City EMS is located at 1300 7th St. The telephone number is 409-245-2685. |
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Heat-related situations are a real problem in Matagorda County right now. As the county continues to battle the wave of heat that has been an ongoing affair without the hope of relief, heat-related calls to Bay City EMS are beginning to become more prevalent.
Eddie Callendar of the Bay City EMS states that the "numbers of heat-related calls are on the rise." He stresses the importance of anyone working in the heat of taking precautions to prevent heat-related illness. Mr. Callendar also stated that the elderly individuals were probably the most severely impacted by the current heat wave. As an aid to their employees in dealing with the heat, Bay City EMS has made sure that their employees have easy access to water coolers for replenishing their fluids after their work on emergency calls. Many other construction and outdoor businesses are following the same scenario by providing either water or nutritional drinks for their workers. Deaths in Texas due to heat-related conditions continue to rise in the major cities, such as Houston, Dallas, San Antonio and Austin. The majority of these deaths take place among the elderly, as they try to deal with the weather which has being going on for months. The heat index in Matagorda County has been in the 100's for most of July.
At least one death in this county is believed to have been heat related. Athough the death count continues to rise in major cities, it is believed the toll is really much higher, due to the non-reporting of heat-related deaths in the rural counties of Texas.
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