11 Cooling Stations open across Spartanburg Co.

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) – As the temperature keeps heating up, officials have opened 11 cooling stations around Spartanburg County to help residents cool off.

July has been a sweltering month in the Upstate and while many people have air conditioning, some are still not able to beat the heat.

“We do not know everybody’s situation, there are some people who may not be able to afford the high power bill or may have a broken AC,” said Shawn Harter, deputy fire chief with the Tyger River Fire Department.

Harter said every summer they respond to heat-related calls.

“You do have heat emergencies. You have heat exhaustion where you start feeling light headed, you may get sick to your stomach and that can progress to heat stroke, where your body loses the ability to cool down and that’s a life threatening situation,” Harter said. “In this area we have a lot of construction. When people are in the heat all day we do run some heat-related calls. In our occupation, if we have to go to a structure fire or any type of emergency where we are wearing our protective gear we have to make sure we are hydrated as well.”

To help the community stay cool and hydrated Tyger River Fire Department, along with several other organizations, are opening their doors.

“We have a partnership with Spartanburg Emergency Management, they partnered with some area fire departments to provide cooling stations for our local residents. So, all of our lobbies are open between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. where you can come in off the street, get cooled, get a bottle of water during the hottest part of the day when the heat index is really high,” Harter said.

Harter added the invitation is open to anyone who needs to escape from the heat.

“It is for any vulnerable residents or basically anybody that needs to get out of the heat,” Harter said. “We had a couple people stop by for a few minutes to get a bottle of water and just a cool spot but as this heatwave continues through the end July and into August we just wanted people to know that these locations are available for them to come and get cool.”

The cooling stations will be open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Below you can find the cooling station locations:

• Boiling Springs Fire Department Of Spartanburg
• Campobello Fire
• Campobello Police Department
• Drayton Fire Dept
• Duncan Fire Department
• Landrum Fire & Rescue District
• North Spartanburg Fire Department
• Poplar Springs Fire Service Area
• South Spartanburg Fire District
• Tyger River Fire Department

Officials said the cooling stations will close once the heatwave subsides.

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