FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — The dangerous heat is taking a toll on people who work outside, putting them at risk of heat illness or heat stroke.
Channel 2’s Tom Regan caught up with an excavation crew working in Forsyth County on Monday, where the heat index was around 98 degrees.
The crew was in the process of laying a new water pipe in the stifling heat.
“What’s it like working in this heat?” Regan asked worker Edson Montes.
“It’s tough,” Montes said.
Montes said they’ve battled through searing temperatures before because their work must go on, regardless of the weather.
“We have the tent going on. We try to drink water and stay hydrated. Our boss tries to stay on it. Every morning he buys water and ice, and he has them in the cooler ready for us. And we try to take our breaks,” Montes said.
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He told Regan that the number of breaks they’re required to take depends on the heat index, which is a measure of how hot weather feels to the body based on temperature and humidity.
On a day like Monday…
“It’s recommended three or four during the day shift,” Montes said.
“How long is your shift?” Regan asked Montes.
“11, 12 hours,” Montes said.
“You’re going to be out in this heat for 12 hours?” Regan asked.
“We just kind of rotate out,” Montes said.
A few miles from the excavation site, a crew from Creech Landscaping was hard at work manicuring the grass and shrubs at a home.
They were out in the baking sun from early morning until late afternoon.
“We have a morning huddle, and in the morning huddles we talk about certain safety issues, and this morning we were talking about the heat index, how long it’s going to be this week, make sure we got a lot of water, our guys pace themselves and take breaks when needed,” Jason Creech said. “It’s brutal out there. They can’t just go, go, go. They need to get a lot of water and pace themselves throughout the day.”
Firefighters told Regan that they are expecting a spike in calls for people with heat-related illness this week because of the high temperatures.
“We do expect, unfortunately, to have an increase in responses to heat-related injuries. We hope that doesn’t happen,” Forsyth County Division Chief Jason Shivers said.
Shivers said the most intense heat wave we’ve seen so far this year isn’t just unpleasant, it poses a health danger to people who make a living under the blistering sun.
“Those who work outdoors, roofers, landscapers, anybody in the construction industry. Those folks are at real risk when you have this kind of heat and humidity,” Shivers said.
Firefighters are well aware of the risks of heat illness, given they wear between 45-75 pounds of protective equipment and oxygen.
“We have to have constant rotation, and rotate those firefighters in and out to give them frequent breaks so we don’t become patients ourselves,” Shivers said.
The U.S. Records between 1,700 and 4,000 heat-related deaths annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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