PHOENIX — An Arizona lawmaker is considering a possible review board or task force to see how many cases of heat-related deaths may be uncounted.
Senator Analise Ortiz said there should be a second look when it comes to counting deaths that could be heat-related.
“After seeing your reporting, I feel like we have been lied to about just how bad it is when it comes to heat deaths,” said Ortiz, a Democrat who represents Glendale and Maryvale.
This follows an ABC15 investigation where advocates and experts question if Maricopa County frequently rules out potential heat-related deaths.
“Your reporting definitely makes me want to consider legislation next year,” said Ortiz, “We can look at the governor's Office of Resiliency to see if maybe they could establish some type of second review board. Even the Department of Health Services could establish some kind of task force.”
Ortiz said she plans to meet with the Arizona Department of Health Services in the coming weeks.
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‘ACCLIMATED TO THE HEAT’
ABC15 found a case last June, where a man experiencing homelessness was found dead on a sidewalk in Phoenix.
Temperatures hit a record high of 113 degrees that day.
A medical examiner with the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office dismissed heat played a factor, writing in a death report, “Environmental heat exposure was not entertained as a cause of death because he was acclimated to the heat and the temperature high for that day was 108 degrees with low humidity…”
His official cause of death was listed as ‘acute renal failure due to pre-renal azotemia.’
There were no illicit drugs found in his toxicology reports.
NO BODY TEMPERATURE TAKEN
Another death was dismissed as heat-related because a medical examiner said a body temperature was not available in the records.
According to county records, a man was found unresponsive outside the Phoenix Colosseum. Officials wrote in a preliminary death investigation that the 65-year-old was possibly working outside when he became overheated and fell but his body temperature was not noted at the scene or hospital.
He died in a hospital.
His cause of death was listed as ‘hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease’ with ‘diabetes mellitus, and obesity’ as a contributory cause.
NOT COUNTED AS HEAT DEATHS
The ABC15 Investigators reviewed hundreds of death records and found at least 50 cases that raise serious questions, including whether heat is being dismissed as a cause of death too often.
Including these cases:
- A 72-year-old Arizona man who died days after falling on a sidewalk last year, with the hot surface burning 16% of his body.
An official with the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office listed his cause of death as “complications of thermal injuries” because of prolonged exposure to elevated environmental temperatures on a hot surface.
But his death was not counted as a heat death.
In another case, ABC15 found a medical examiner dismissed heat as contributing to a man’s death in July 2024 because he was found covered with a blanket, which is not what one would expect for a death in a hot environment.
The medical examiner wrote, “he also had a credit card, shelter ID, and bus passes, which he could have used to escape hot environmental temperatures.”
- The 29-year-old was found dead on a park bench on Van Buren Street. Officials listed that drugs contributed to his death.
COUNTING HEAT DEATHS IN ARIZONA
Across the state, medical examiner offices use different criteria to determine heat-related or heat-caused deaths.
A spokesperson for the Arizona Department of Health Services said the department engages in reviews of records before reporting the statewide heat-related and heat-caused deaths.
The department said in an email:
“The nuances of data reporting are an ongoing topic of conversation with stakeholders in local communities, and reaching consensus on reporting standards is a priority for the agency.”
The statement went on to say, “ADHS' Chief Heat Officer is working with local jurisdictions toward a shared understanding and common data collection procedure to ensure consistent and accurate reporting, to refine the view of the impact of heat on mortality in Arizona.”
DECLINE IN A DECADE
2024 was the first time in a decade when heat-related deaths declined, according to Maricopa County.
There were 37 fewer heat-related deaths in 2024 than in 2023, when a record of 645 people died in Maricopa County.
City and county leaders have used the decline in heat death numbers to show that the strategies they are taking are working.
“Through successful policy making and with thanks to Mayor Gallego’s leadership, we were able to see a significant reduction in heat-related deaths,” said Phoenix Vice Mayor Ann O’Brien in a March news release.
Then, at a city council meeting in March, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego also touted that there were fewer heat- related deaths, “the number of people who lost their lives is still way too high but the curve didn't happen by accident, it shows that providing a coordinated thorough response to extreme heat can save lives today.”
Maricopa County leaders also pushed out a news release earlier this year titled, "2024 Shows First Decline in Heat Deaths in a Decade."
The state’s first chief heat officer, Dr. Eugene Livar, also praised a drop in heat-related deaths at a May press conference, “The preliminary data shows 2024 is on track in the first summer in six years that Arizona has not seen exponential increase in the number of heat deaths. We hope this positive achievement will lead to long-term improvements over time.”
Maricopa County Board of Supervisor Thomas Galvin tells ABC15 he did not see our investigation, but responded earlier this week that he is proud of the employees that work at the medical examiner’s office.
“It is a very hard job,” he said. “I know that the county put out a statement identifying and explaining how we deal with deaths. Heat deaths is a very serious issue for us.”
“WHY AREN’T THEY?”
ABC15 shared medical examiner reports, toxicology reports, and preliminary investigative reports with experts, advocates and researchers.
An associate professor from Texas, who studies mortality, reviewed some of the cases ABC15 found that were not counted as heat-related.
“The main question is, why aren’t they?” Said Dr. Jeffrey Howard, with the College for Health, Community and Policy at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
“It's certainly the question of why are these not considered heat-related when all indications in these reports would suggest that they are heat-related,” he said.
MARICOPA COUNTY’S RESPONSE:
The Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office declined a second interview this week after ABC15’s investigation aired.
In an email, a spokesperson said the county does not have further comment on this story.
A county spokesperson said in a previous statement that the office of the medical examiner is “a national model for how to rigorously investigate and evaluate heat-related deaths.”
The office added that forensic pathologists use their best medical judgment.
“Heat-related deaths are those where, in the forensic pathologist’s best medical judgment, exposure to high environmental heat either causes or contributes to the death,” a statement read, in part.
A county spokesperson also said the Maricopa County Department of Public Health “consistently messages that its heat surveillance does not account for every heat death or illness in the county.”
ABC15 asked the county what their methodology is for counting heat deaths, but the county spokesperson did not respond to that question.
CITY OF PHOENIX RESPONDS
The ABC15 Investigators reached out to the City of Phoenix because city leaders used Maricopa County data to raise awareness about heat dangers.
Mayor Kate Gallego’s office did not answer ABC15’s question about whether the mayor is concerned that heat is being ruled out in some death investigations. She also did not respond to whether she would support a review panel to look over heat-related deaths to see if cases are going uncounted.
In a statement, her office said, “Each year, we've expanded our network of heat relief centers, including extended-hour and overnight locations, coupled with outreach teams and wrap-around support for vulnerable populations.”
The statement went on to say the city relies on several indicators when implementing heat safety strategies, including Maricopa County Department of Public Health data, along with the number and locations of heat-related public safety calls.
“When tracking the effectiveness of our interventions, we also consider site-specific data at our cooling and hydration centers, including the number of people connected to services and successfully transitioned into housing,” the statement said.
