Heat closes jail, hospitalizes firefighters

The high temperatures took their toll Friday across North Carolina, where one jail that doesn't have air-conditioning was ordered closed and five firefighters were treated for heat exhaustion.

The secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services ordered that the Yadkin County Jail remain closed until the sheriff can keep the temperature under 85 degrees inside.

"It's a pure code violation," said John Harkins, the state's chief jail inspector. "They didn't have a choice in the matter."

Temperatures in the jail stayed at 90 degrees or higher Wednesday and Thursday, when inmates sat in front of 48-inch shop fans and drank lots of water.

In Charlotte, where the high reached 104 degrees Friday afternoon, five firefighters were sent to local hospitals with heat exhaustion.

The Charlotte Fire Department had sent about 60 firefighters to fight a house fire - three times the normal 20 firefighters - to compensate for the extreme heat.

But the heavy equipment caused problems for some firefighters.

"The equipment that they wear protects them from the fire, from falling debris and flames," said Capt. Rob Brisley, fire department spokesman. "However, it tends to overheat them far too quickly."

The city sent air-conditioned buses to help firefighters cool down between shifts, and paramedics evaluated each one before they returned to fight the fire, Brisley said.

Much of North Carolina suffered Friday through a third day of record-breaking heat. The high reached 104 degrees Friday at the Raleigh-Durham Airport, breaking the old record of 99 degrees set in 2001. The high reached 98 degrees Friday in Wilmington, breaking the old record of 97 degrees set in 1979.

But scattered showers and a cold front were expected to bring more seasonable temperatures for the weekend, with highs in the mid 90s.

"Less hot I guess is the way to put it," said Barrett Smith, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Raleigh.