What to Know
- An AC unit broke down at a nursing home in Voorhees Township on Sunday, leading to the evacuation of 183 people.
- The residents were taken to a school across the street. One person was hospitalized.
- An HVAC unit later repaired the AC unit.
A Camden County nursing home was evacuated Sunday due to no air conditioning amid dangerously hot temperatures.
The AC unit broke down at the Pines at Voorhees Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center on the 1300 block of Laurel Oak Road in Voorhees Township around 1:30 p.m.
Emergency buses and seven ambulances responded to the building and a total of 183 people were evacuated. Several residents in wheelchairs were moved to Eastern Regional High School on 1401 Laurel Oak Road. One person from the center was taken to the hospital.
Members of an HVAC company worked on repairing the AC system and were able to fix it Sunday evening. Crews are now moving residents back into the building.
Temperatures reached 98 degrees in our area by Sunday afternoon with a feels-like of 110. Camden County was one of several counties in the region to issue a heat health emergency. Elderly people as well as those with pre-existing medical conditions are the most vulnerable during a heat wave.
"We're worried about the safety of the residents," Voorhees Fire Department Capt. Jim Arpino said. "Obviously they're in a long-term care facility. Their medical needs are more than the common individual."
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Though the region’s heat wave will be over by Monday, conditions will still be hot and humid with highs in the upper 80s.
