The Great American State Fair closed early on Friday after emergency crews treated dozens of visitors, many for heat-related problems, per NBC News. DC Fire and EMS said they’d had contact with 44 patients before the shutdown; 11 were taken to hospitals, with a range of illnesses and injuries. Seven required advanced life support, while four received basic life support.
Officials said more than a dozen of the cases were tied to the heat, which Mediaite reported got up to 99 degrees Fahrenheit, with a 111-degree heat index. DC Fire and EMS was one of several medical teams on the scene, along with responders from the Department of Health and Human Services and George Washington University Hospital, so the total number treated could be higher, per NBC. Those agencies didn’t immediately provide further details.
Some fairgoers, who were asked to leave the grounds until the fair reopened at 5pm, backed the decision to close, with one visitor describing the conditions as “like being in an oven” and saying the move was necessary to keep people from getting sick. “The safety and well-being of every guest remains our top priority as we celebrate this historic 250th Independence Day,” a Freedom 250 rep noted on Facebook.
