Salvation Army in Meridian to setup Cooling Station during intense heat wave.

Meridian, MS - The extremely dangerous heat continues throughout the week, causing the Meridian community to be extra cautious when outside.

Doug Stevens is the Public Safety Director of Meridian and feels the community must work together to beat the heat. “We encourage or employees to eat healthy, be sure their properly hydrated, take frequent breaks, wear light colored clothing, loose clothing, and just be very cautious of other employees around you. We do ask our citizens to look out for their neighbors. Check on those elderly people who may not have adequate air conditioning. Just look after those people and stay hydrated.”

Looking out for neighbors is a task that Lieutenant Roy Fisher and the Salvation Army are planning to do with their cooling station. “We just want to make sure we’re getting people out of this extreme heat, because when we’re hitting into the triple digits and then with this humidity, that does not help at all.”

The cooling station will begin starting Monday July 10th, but residents don’t have to wait until then. “Even right now we have it setup to where anybody can come in and grab a bottle of water from our front desk, so that they can actually cool down a little bit, and if they need to sit for a few minutes, they can as well.”

Lieutenant Fisher says they are also asking for volunteers, as well as donations of Water, and Gatorade for the cooling station.

The City of Meridian and The Salvation Army say it’s up to the community as a whole to make sure everyone stays hydrated and safe during this intense heat.