It’s a record no county wants to break.

After a grueling hot summer that only just ended, the Pinal County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed this year was the deadliest for heat-related deaths in the county in the five years since the office was granted jurisdiction.

Details showed 33 people died from heat exposure between May 18 and Sept. 8, six more than last year. The previous worst year on record for heat deaths in Pinal County was 2022 with 32 deaths.

Of this summer’s 33 deaths, one occurred in Maricopa. On July 5 at 8:51 a.m., a 58-year-old homeless man died outdoors from heart disease exacerbated by heat exposure.

Breaking down the data

Half of the heat deaths occurred in July, traditionally the county’s hottest month of the year, followed closely by June with 10 deaths. The deadliest day was June 10 with three deaths, including a man and woman who died together in a home without air conditioning.

Six in 10 people who died of overheating this summer died indoors under such circumstances.

PCMEO released a new data point not included in previous reports: whether the victim had air conditioning.

Six in 10 heat deaths this summer occurred in homes lacking functional air conditioning. Two of the deaths that occurred indoors had air conditioning limited to certain rooms of the home or were too weak to cool the home below 94 degrees.

This is especially telling after a Maricopa veteran endured two years with a faulty air conditioner in his Maricopa Meadows home. His unit was replaced at no charge by 911 Air Repair.

“My wife and I [spent] days with it 95 or 97 degrees in the house. I went to bed last night and it’s still 92 degrees at midnight,” Scott Blake told InMaricopa in June.

Emergency room visits for heat-related illnesses this year totaled 344, which rose 6% from last year. The highest number occurred the week of July 7, with 44 people seeking treatment for dehydration, heat exhaustion, hyperthermia or heat stroke.

One-fourth of heat victims this year were homeless and two-thirds were men. Half were seniors over age 65.