Who gets to cool down during a Sarnia heat wave?

As extreme heat drives record numbers of people to Lambton emergency rooms, Iron Eagle Gyms is giving out free water to anyone who needs it. Owner Rob Pelletier says the effort is filling a critical gap after cooling centres close but dangerous temperatures remain.

Humans can survive longer without food than without water.

The body is more than half water, and as a species we are born from it.
Water is essential to life. 

Still, not everyone has equal access to it.

Not even in extreme, record-breaking heat.

Today, Sarnia will see temperatures soar to a high of 37C but with the humidex, it will feel 45C, according to Environment Canada data.

For local First-Nations owned business, Iron Eagle Gyms, a goodwill gesture to help the community during a heat warning earlier this month is now playing a vital role, bridging a gap for people in need of drinking water.

“It’s larger than what I anticipated,” said gym owner, Rob Pelletier, “just because of the location,” he said. The gym sits on Christina Street South in the old Sarnia Observer building at the corner of Front Street South and Wellington Street.

Recently, he said he recognized signs of severe dehydration in someone passing by his shop.

“Honestly, it kind of looks like they are stumbling (under the influence), but they aren’t,” he said, adding he ran out with water that was “guzzled down,” by the person who Pelletier described as appearing “as if they were ten minutes away from collapsing.”

“They drink some water, cool down and just feel more human again,” he said.

As a decades-long coach, “I understand, if you sweat, you lose your electrolytes,” he said, “and what these people need is hydration. The least I can do is give them water.”

At first, Pelletier just grabbed a couple cooler bags, stuck some water in them and sat them outside, along with a sign that read “Free Water.” Now, “lots of people stop by,” he said.

In one interaction, Pelletier asked a passerby if they had drank any water that day “the answer I got was ‘no, I think I did yesterday’…and all I could think was, you think you drank water yesterday? You aren’t sure you drank water yesterday?”

Sometimes, those stopping share they have not eaten food in more than a day, said Pelletier.

But not everyone who stops for hydration is homeless, said Pelletier, adding some people pulling over for a sip are just out walking their dog and find themselves stuck out in hotter temperatures than they might have expected.

When it comes to heat-related emergency room visits, Lambton county is seeing a consistent and noticeable rise in numbers, according to the Lambton Public Health Climate Change Database.

So far this year, at least 50 people have gone to the emergency department for heat-related symptoms, a steep climb from the 28 people who did last year and the highest of any year since beginning to collect this data in 2012.

The second highest year was in 2019 when 39 people visited the emergency room for heat-related symptoms.

While the City of Sarnia has five official cooling centres, each location is a public space acting with separate mandates and only offers respite during regular service hours, not until the extreme heat warning has officially ended.

“The cooling centres close, but the temperature remains the same,” said Pelletier.

With night time temperatures not dropping below 30C there is little or no relief for anyone who is outside continuously.

As night time nears, it is not uncommon for people to ask Pelletier if they can fill extra bottles before he closes his business for the night. “At night, where do they get their water?”

“I’m just filling in the gaps where I can see the need.”

Pelletier is both purchasing water and collecting donations, “whatever we get, we give,” he said.

“We need more do-ers, it’s infectious.”

For a complete list of cooling centres throughout Lambton County visit www.lambtonpublichealth.ca/warming-and-cooling-centres-in-lambton-county/