Suburban Residents Preparing For A Very Hot Day On Thursday
BLUE ISLAND, Ill. (CBS) -- The heat settling in on the Chicago area isn't just uncomfortable, it's potentially dangerous.
CBS 2's Courtney Gousman reports on how residents in the suburbs have been preparing for possible record heat on Thursday.
Blue Island's Salvation Army will be a hotspot for seniors and others looking to get some relief from the heat on Thursday.
Many local residents said they're bracing for the heat, which is making for an extremely busy day for others.
Todd Botma, president of Lansing Heating and Air Conditioning, spent much of Wednesday answering calls from all over the south suburbs.
"We're going on all cylinders right now," he said.
Botma said he and his staff are bracing for a busy day Thursday, as temperatures are expected to hit triple digits, which usually creates air conditioning problems.
"It means long hours, and little sleep," Botma said.
For him, when the mercury reaches 95 and above, calls for service increase go from about 40 per day to around 100 per day.
One Lansing resident didn't want to take any chances when her air conditioner started to make noise.
"A lot of the calls that come into the shop through the secretary will be people just telling her, you know, 'We just want to make sure that it's going to work tomorrow,'" Botma said.
Samuel Day, 78, doesn't have air in his home, but he said he knows exactly where to go when it gets hot out.
"I have a fan, two of them," he said. "That's why I stay out to keep cool."
Day spends most of his day at the Salvation Army in Blue Island, where he has lunch, then plays Bingo.
"I made it this far. So, I just take the bitter with the sweet," he said.
There are others who say, when Thursday comes, they won't remember much of it.
Oak Forest resident Wayne Clougier said, "I'm telling you, I'm going to pull the shades down and go back to bed."
Cooling center hours at the Salvation Army in Blue Island run from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
