06/10/2026
🚒🔥 LOWELL —
Well folks, today’s the day.
The excessive heat warning is officially here, and judging by the forecast, the sun woke up this morning, chose violence, and has no intention of apologizing for it.
If you haven’t gone outside yet, don’t worry. The second you open that front door you’ll be greeted by a wall of heat so disrespectful it’ll make you question whether breathing is worth the effort.
It’s hot.
Not “summer hot.”
Not “county fair hot.”
Not “sit under a tree and you’ll be okay” hot.
This is “the devil just filed a complaint because it’s too warm outside” hot.
This is “walking across the Walmart parking lot becomes an Olympic event” hot.
This is “your truck’s A/C is currently putting in more work than some people do all week” hot.
This is “your steering wheel has become a cast iron skillet” hot.
This is “your seatbelt buckle is now a felony assault charge” hot.
This is “you crack the car door and get hit with a blast of air that smells like burning hopes and bad decisions” hot.
And before the annual convention of Facebook Tough Guys starts checking in…
Yeah. We know.
You worked outside for 40 years.
You drank hose water.
You never wore sunscreen.
You survived the heat wave of ’88.
You fought a bear.
You drove a stick shift.
You bought a house for $17,000.
Congratulations.
The sun does not give a damn.
Heat stroke doesn’t care how tough you think you are.
Heat exhaustion doesn’t care how many deer you’ve dragged out of the woods.
Dehydration doesn’t care how many American flags are hanging in your garage.
And Mother Nature has never once looked at somebody and said, “Well, he’s stubborn. Better leave him alone.”
Today is the day people convince themselves they’re okay right up until they’re laying in the shade wondering why the sky has started spinning.
So let’s try something different.
Drink some damn water.
No, beer doesn’t count.
No, Busch Light doesn’t count.
No, coffee doesn’t count.
No, Mountain Dew doesn’t count.
No, that neon-green gas station energy drink named after some sort of radioactive woodland creature doesn’t count either.
Water.
The clear stuff.
Drink it.
Then drink some more.
Then drink enough that you’re tired of looking at it.
Stay inside if you can.
Find some air conditioning.
If your A/C is broken and your house feels like the inside of a smoker at a BBQ competition, stop trying to be a hero and go somewhere cool.
Cooling centers exist for a reason.
Use them.
Check on your elderly neighbors.
Check on your family.
Check on your friends.
Check on your pets.
Check on that one stubborn guy standing in the driveway shirtless telling everyone, “This ain’t that bad.”
Because every firefighter and paramedic reading this knows exactly how that story usually ends.
And now for the part we somehow still have to say every single year:
DO. NOT. LEAVE. KIDS. IN. CARS.
Not for a minute.
Not for five minutes.
Not while you “run in real quick.”
Not while you grab one thing.
Not while you think they’ll be fine.
DON’T.
Also don’t leave pets in vehicles.
And for God’s sake don’t leave grandma in there either.
Today a parked vehicle is basically a giant metal crockpot with airbags.
If you’re dizzy, weak, nauseated, confused, lightheaded, cramping up, seeing spots, hearing weird things, or suddenly feeling like laying down in the middle of the yard sounds like a solid life choice, get out of the heat immediately.
And if it becomes a medical emergency, call 911.
Look, we’d much rather spend today sitting around the station arguing about who forgot to make coffee, who left an empty milk carton in the fridge, and whether the thermostat should be set at 68 or 72 than spending all afternoon hauling people to the hospital because they decided today’s forecast was a personal challenge.
Because here’s the reality:
The forecast isn’t a challenge.
The heat doesn’t care who you are.
The sun has a 93-million-mile kill streak and remains undefeated.
Today is not the day to test your toughness.
Today is the day to be smarter than the weather.
Stay cool.
Stay hydrated.
Stay alive.
And please… don’t make yourselves the story we end up telling around the kitchen table tonight.
— Lowell Fire Department 🚒🔥
