Until yesterday, Boston thermometers had not seen 103 degrees in a July 22 since 1926, but the sweltering heat wave on the east coast the temperature reached a record of 15:52, testing the network in New England power and punish anyone who came out.
Reports of fainting and dehydration came faster than the average summer day, but not as fast as some expected, and the authorities are giving people credit to heed safety advice.
Boston Emergency Medical Services sent a wave of heat-related calls for a second day yesterday, but nothing serious, said spokeswoman Jennifer Mehigan Boston EMS.
With today's temperatures expected to match almost yesterday, however, slipped on a precautionary approach "knock on wood.''
"It was not bad in this town for a hot day,''said Ryan Donovan, a spokesman for Massachusetts General Hospital." We had a little less than 10 cases of fainting, dehydration and other heat-related problems. We are thinking of people followed the advice to stay inside.''
However, many people work outdoors, some fire fighting.
Boston Deputy Fire Chief Michael Doherty called three-alarm fire yesterday afternoon Egleston Square duplex, in part because he feared that the high temperatures that exceed the firefighters. About 75 firefighters worked into the rotation, alternatively, the fire fighting and drinking water.
Others were out willingly.
In Framingham yesterday, 1,700 people walked around a dozen miles from Waltham in the heat of noon, as part of a breast cancer Susan G. Komen fundraiser.
"I'm taking it easy, I'm not going to lie,''said Maurine Turcotte, a survivor of breast 49 years, cancer of Amesbury, which has suffered most Mondays from chemotherapy since 2007.
"I'm not going to be in treatment of breast cancer for four years and end up in hospital for a walk,''he said.
The organizers of the creation of cooling centers, which uses excess water, and shortens the course of the afternoon as medical tent began to fill up, Turcotte said.
Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Co. train line Framingham / Worcester were experiencing heat-related delays of 10 to 15 minutes yesterday afternoon, according to the MBTA website. A spokesman for the train, said delays of 30 minutes in the line of Rockport were also weather related.
The last time Massachusetts was reaching 100 degrees July 6, 2010, and recording of all time Boston is 104 degrees, set July 4, 1911.
Because yesterday was the third consecutive day with temperatures over 90 degrees, Massachusetts is officially in a heatwave.
So it was one of the last things that swimmers on three beaches in the area wanted to hear yesterday when health officials were warned that swimming in bacteria three times acceptable levels.
The Department of Conservation and Recreation issued ads in the King's Beach in Lynn, part of Nahant Beach, and Revere Beach, warning that the water exceeded safe levels of enterococci, a group of bacterial species typically found in intestines of humans and animals and therefore in their feces, the Department of Public Health, said.
"Field reports suggest that many people have remained on the beach, but not in the water, perhaps choosing to dip their feet instead of a bathroom,''Puerto SJ DCR spokeswoman said in an e- mail.
The RCD, the city of Boston, and many other municipalities hours of pool or open cooling centers. Boston extended the operation of the centers of cooling to the night.
Meanwhile, New England is about to record amounts of energy, and ISO New England gets closer to its generating capacity, but did not ask all customers to conserve electricity.
"The conditions are very tight,''said Dominic Slowey, a spokesman for the regional energy operator, yesterday afternoon." We are seeing the health care system. For now, we're fine, but as the heat wave continues, it puts stress on the team.''
In a typical summer day, he said, consumption is around 22,000 or 23,000 megawatts, with each megawatt usually enough to power 1,000 homes. The system reaches a maximum around 32,000 megawatts, if all plants are online and transmitters are running smoothly, Slowey said.
ISO New England said immersed in energy stocks yesterday and paid the big energy users to reduce consumption of plant pumps the number of megawatts second highest ever: 27,780 megawatts.
The worst of the heat is expected to ease today with temperatures in the upper 90, said Alan Dunham, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service at Taunton.
And tomorrow, the heat wave is expected to end.
Wait "moments of the 80 fresh lower or could be better, with highs in the upper 70,''said Dunham.
And after a long week and dry on Monday night has a 50 percent chance of showers, which could continue into Tuesday morning, said Dunham.
Travis Andersen, Globe staff and Globe correspondent Amanda Lutz and James Cedrone contributed to this report. Ben Wolford can be reached bwolford@globe.com.
