Salvation Army to open cooling centers

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - With near-record heat on the way, health officials encourage everyone to take extra precautions.

If you don't have air conditioning at home, you might consider going somewhere that does.

Just before the sun bears down on central Indiana, bringing excessive heat, The Salvation Army is taking precautions and setting up shelters. They will open a cooling center on High School Road, and another center on South Shelby Street, at 10 a.m. Thursday

"With this kind of heat, a lot of people, by the time they think of going to a shelter they are already in heat stress," said Jerry Larsen, the disaster director for The Salvation Army Indiana Division.

With Thursday's high forecasted to be in the triple digits, The Salvaton Army doesn't want anyone to suffer a heat-related illness. Larsen said they've set up two shelters to help people stay cool.

"We'll have cool drinks, water and Gatoraid, and we'lll have some light snacks for them to eat," he said.

• BEAT THE HEAT | Tips on staying cool in the extreme temperatures

Larsen took 24-Hour News 8 inside one cooling center on High School Road. Inside, there's ample space for people to come in, take a seat and cool off. Both centers have gymnasiums and meeting room space to accommodate large crowds, he said.

"We'll have people to keep kind of an eye on them, keep track of them, make sure if there's anybody with medical conditions we can get assistance for them," he said.

Both locations are air conditioned. If you're in need of a place to cool off, these centers will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Larsen said they will be monitoring the temperatures and will make a decision whether or not to keep the centers open longer. If there's a need for additional centers they are prepared to open more.