Phoenix expands heat response plan with 23 actions as heat-related deaths decline

PHOENIX - The city of Phoenix is updating its heat response plan and expanding its plans from last year to help people stay cool. 

What we know:

At the Burton Barr Central Library, a cooling center is just one part of their plan. With 23 heat response actions, they focus on not just the public but also people working out in the heat. 

Some of the things they’re doing include giving first responders the tools they need and helping out local partners, like homeless shelters.

Local perspective:

Every year, the Phoenix Fire Department is called out to multiple hiker rescues on trails. Helping someone with a heat-related illness is as simple as using ice and an IV bag.

"We'll take IV bags that have been stuck in a cooler or in ice so it's super chilled. We can actually fully encapsulate a person and fill it with ice, and it rapidly cools their body," said Phoenix Fire Department Captain DJ Lee. "Our bodies seem to wear down a little bit faster, so we have recycling periods where we'll actually get more resources coming earlier on fires. We do health assessments where we'll check out vital signs. We kind of do a rehabilitation center, put them in air conditioning, drink plenty of fluids."

The city's updated plan also includes building new heat-focused education resources for city employees, restructuring the city's heat relief assistance program for community partners, and expanding outreach efforts to mobile homes and senior living communities.

By the numbers:

Maricopa County says that heat-related deaths are actually going down. In 2025, they say there were about 430. In 2024, there were 608, and in 2023 there were 645.

Dig deeper:

Keys to Change is an organization that helps homeless people, and they are an organization that is partnered with the city for heat relief.

"We serve around 1,200 people every day," said Keys to Change marketing and communications manager Kim Beaudoin. "The campus itself has multiple indoor spaces that act as heat relief over the summertime, so the Welcome Center."

They're open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and let people stay overnight.

"We're taking care of their basic needs because if you're not taking care of those basic needs, we're not going to be able to help them with the deeper and more underlying issues," Beaudoin said.

What you can do:

The Heat Relief Network map is going to be coming out on May 1 on the city's website, with different places to go and resources to keep cool. Senior centers, community centers, and swimming pools are going to be hydration stations, just like last year. They also have 11 smart water stations, which is up from three last year.