Where To Find Chatham’s Cooling Centers

CHATHAM, NJ — Temperatures are soaring throughout all of New Jersey, with Chatham having established official locations where residents can go if they need a place to cool down. Some are open for part of the day and others around the clock. For an updated list, visit New Jersey 2-1-1’s cooling centers page, then choose “Morris County.”

Locations currently in Chatham include (as of 11:45 a.m. June 30, 2021):

Library of the Chathams, 214 Main Street (opened as needed)

Chatham Borough’s Memorial Park Pool at 22 North Passaic Avenue is open free for seniors who are ages 65 and up when the mercury hits over 90 degrees. The Colony Pool Club at 55 School Avenue also invites Chatham Township seniors ages 62 and up to hit their pool for free and ask that they bring identification to enter the pool.

New Jersey’s Office Of Emergency Management cautions everyone in the Garden State that heat indices can reach more that 100 to 105 and with excessive heat advisories through Wednesday possible.

Cooling center information is available statewide at www.nj211.org, by dialing 2-1-1 or texting 898211 with your zip code to find a cooling center. Cooling centers may include shopping centers, libraries, community centers and other locations.

New Jersey’s OEM gives the following tips for people who must go outside, how to stay cool indoors and other tips:

1. Wear lightweight, loose, light-colored clothes.
2. Stay in the shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat to cover your face.
3. Stay hydrated.
4. Steer clear of “high-energy activities.”
5. Try not to use electric fans when it’s more than 95, which “create a false sense of comfort” and don’t reduce body temperatures.
6. High heat can cause power outages. See more information here about what to do before, during and after outages.
7. Check on family members, neighbors and friends, especially those who may be seniors, for heat-related illnesses.
8. Never leave children, pets or anyone alone in a hot parked car, even for a minute (find more heat-related pet care tips here) or it can turn deadly, New Jersey OEM said.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at jennifer.miller@patch.com.