ST. LOUIS — St. Louis offers free summer camps at their recreational centers. South City's Marquette location has about 100 campers each day.
"For the most part, we haven't had any problems with children overheating," supervisor Reateena Bass said.
When temperatures reach 100 degrees, Bass has seen up to 500 people come visit their public access pool throughout the day.
"If someone looks like they may be overheating, we try to get them to some air condition so they can kind of cool of for a little while or make a suggestion hey come on inside get some of this air get some water and stay out of the sun," Bass said.
While campers are playing outside in south city, firefighters are working outside in O'Fallon, Missouri.
"Our gear weighs in excess of 80 pounds and when it's not needed we try to wear as little as possible to keep our core temperature down," O'Fallon Fire Protection District firefighter and paramedic Cody Willis said.
Willis said they work about 15 calls a day.
"The past couple of days with the 3rd and Fourth of July, we ran five structure fires which makes it difficult for that time of year, especially with this type of heat. Another call we're seeing a lot is heat-related illnesses," Willis said.
A normal call requires a first alarm, meaning five trucks and one ambulance. On days with heat advisories they call in more manpower.
"Our Battalion Chief before we even get out the door he might strike a second alarm so that's going to get us double the amount of trucks and double the amount of manpower to help us out over these grueling temperatures," Willis said.
They keep coolers filled with water and cool, damp rags on their trucks. A neighboring department sends a "rehab bus" with resources to the scene to help keep the firefighters hydrated.
"These last couple of weeks have been excessively hot though, so we're trying to do what we can to stay on top of it," Willis said.
The O'Fallon firefighters told me that being able to wear shorts and these dry-fit T-shirts during this time of year helps.
As far as the rec centers, the city has seven different locations you can visit if you need shelter, water or a place to cool off or even go swimming.