• Mayor issues order as Detroit and cities nationally cope with extreme temperatures and a heat index in excess of 100 degrees 
• Order instructs city departments to take specific actions this week and during any extreme heat period to help ensure the safety of residents and city workers 
• Order focuses on protecting city’s most vulnerable residents, including unsheltered population and seniors and halting water shut offs during high temps 

Mayor Mary Sheffield today signed an Executive Order that lays out specific actions the city and its departments will take to help ensure residents and city workers are safe during this period of extreme heat.  Detroit, along with cities across the country and globally, are experiencing temperatures approaching or exceeding 100 degrees, with the heat index even higher.  

The National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) defines extreme heat as a “period of high heat and humidity with temperatures above 90°F for at least two to three days.” In Detroit, these conditions began yesterday and are forecast to continue through Friday.

"The first responsibility of any government is the safety and wellbeing of its citizens and during this extreme heat, both are at risk,” said Mayor Sheffield. “Ensuring that our residents are safe and have relief from the heat is a community-wide responsibility. This executive order lays out what city government will do and we ask members of the public who are able, to also check on their family members, friends and neighbors to make sure they are okay, and if not, to let us know.”  

The first requirement the Mayor’s Executive Order is for the the City’s extreme weather response plan spanning all executive branch departments of city government to be updated on an ongoing basis to reflect community needs and additional response efforts. 

The plan provides specific direction to city departments, including:

• Requiring all city departments to adhere to and distribute extreme heat guidelines for all workers, in particular those who work outside, such as police officers, firefighters and medics, road workers, water department workers and more.  
• Extending cooling center hours through September 15th from 9AM until 9 PM as necessary, with the Building Safety, Engineering & Environmental Department (BSEED) expediting all requests for temperature related needs at cooling centers. 
• Ensuring the Detroit Water & Sewerage Department does not shut off water services that are not at the request of the customer or to fix a broken main to ensure all residents can have relief from the heat 
• Coordinating through the Department of Human, Homeless and Family Services (HHFS) all extreme heart response efforts, including mitigation, relief and recovery all with city, federal, state, county partners, with priority given to individuals who are unhoused or living in unsafe conditions 
• Police and Fire departments, along with the Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, also coordinating their response efforts with federal, state and county agencies.  
• Prioritizing Senior Citizen wellbeing through the Office of Senior Citizen Affairs by conducting site visits to multi-unit senior residential buildings. 

All executive orders can be found here: detroitmi.gov/government/city-clerk/executive-orders-directives.