Brooklyn Park Designates “Warming Station” for Extreme Cold
Brooklyn Park officials are implementing some policies to keep residents safe during this week’s Arctic blast. People in the northwest suburbs are experiencing windchills not felt since 1996. The windchill could dip as low as – 50 degrees Tuesday night.
“It is too cold to be outside,” said Sarah Neilson, who took her daughter, Lauren, to go skating at the Brooklyn Park Ice Arena.
“You can only spend so many days inside before your kids start crawling up the walls and you need to get them out to move.” said Neilson. “This is the one place where you can come and you’re not out in the cold and you can do that.”
Designated “Warming Station”
The city also took proactive steps by designating the Brooklyn Park Community Activity Center, which is connected to the Ice Area, as a “warming station.”
“If people have to get out of the elements for a short period of time that they can come and get warm,” said Brooklyn Park Fire Chief John Cunningham.
Brooklyn Park officials also added additional staff to help fire and police crews respond to emergencies.
“We can rotate people, are own firefighters, through a more frequent occasion realizing that just a few minutes exposure to cold temperatures are harmful to everyone,” explained Cunningham.
With the temperatures expected to drop even lower Wednesday night, officials encourage everyone to be safe.
“This is dangerous. Stay inside. Stay out of the frigid temperatures,” said Cunningham.
