For the second time in as many weeks, an elderly couple was found dead in their home from what appeared to be heat exhaustion.
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office found the couple in a Fountain Hills home without air conditioning Monday. Their names were not released.
That brings the total of heat-related deaths under investigation in the Metro Phoenix area this year to 14, according to the Department of Public Health.
The daytime high in Fountain Hills climbed to around 104, but Dr. Rebecca Sunenshine, with the Maricopa Department of Public Health warned it only takes a few hours for the late afternoon sun to heat up a home to deadlier temperatures.
“Please check on your elderly neighbors,” she said. “A lot of individuals living alone may not be able to afford to keep their air conditioning on, or it may not be working and that can be absolutely deadly in these temperatures.”
Besides being generally frailer, Sunenshine said medications often make the elderly particularly susceptible to higher temperatures.
