Heat wave beginning to take its toll on Washington area

The heat wave gripping the Washington area for the second consecutive day left an elderly man fighting for his life as temperatures in the city topped out at 99 degrees Wednesday.

At around noon, a man in his 70s collapsed outside Sixth and I streets in Northwest, said District Fire and Emergency Medical Services spokesman Alan Edder. The man was taken to a local doctor’s office before paramedics rushed him to Howard University Hospital with a body temperature of 108 degrees, Edder said. By early in the evening, Edder said the man’s condition still was severe, and his chances of survival were “50-50.”