Obvious, but timely: It's HOT

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renosteinke

renosteinke

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NE Arkansas
Yesterday, in the shade, plenty of air circulation: 105, with a heat index of 117.

Saw a man who looked like he was a bit 'tipsy.' Or, maybe, a little 'punch drunk.' Just a little, a certain erraticness to his movements. It was simple heat exhaustion- with a touch of dehydration. You need to intervene before someone like this steps off the loading dock, or collapses in a bad place.

Ice and water and physical condition only go so far. At some point, you simply either get out of the heat or shut down.

Most dangerous, perhaps, is that your judgement is the first to go. The guy I described had no idea he was so far gone - until later, after he recovered.
 
A number of the deaths being attributed to the heat are the result of people becoming disorientated like that, stumbling and hitting their heads.

Be safe out there.
 
There are crazies out there though :( Just the other day I heard a contractor (with employees) get a call from a customer asking about some attic work, and whether it wasn't too hot to go up there. He responded that "Nope, it's fine. We have ice water and wrap some cool towels around our necks, take a few breaks and do what needs to be done."

For an emergency, early in the morning, OK. I can see it. But when those attics are hitting 160 F there's no good reason to go up.
 
PetrosA said:
There are crazies out there though :( Just the other day I heard a contractor (with employees) get a call from a customer asking about some attic work, and whether it wasn't too hot to go up there. He responded that "Nope, it's fine. We have ice water and wrap some cool towels around our necks, take a few breaks and do what needs to be done."

For an emergency, early in the morning, OK. I can see it. But when those attics are hitting 160 F there's no good reason to go up.
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times are tough man. I hope they are careful and take breaks as they say.
 
It's amazing how precise the weather forcasts try to be: today they tell mie it will rain at 10AM. They also show our currently surprisingly decent temperatures (low 90's) as holding. After the rain, though, they show the HEAT INDEX as rocketing to the 115+ range- even though the actual temps will remain under 100.

Everyone 'knows' that passing out and having steam come out your ears is a bad thing. What's not so obvious is that the first thing to go is your judgement. You get a bit 'loopy,' and you NEED others to spot this for you.

Help your brother be careful.
 
What I do is bring a large cooler that is filled with water- not iced. I mark that as "do not drink" because I use it to dip a towel in. I wear the towel around my neck and it really cools you off. It drips down on your shirt cooling you even more.

There was an article in this mornings paper about the hvac guys who are working 12 hours a day in 130 degree attics. I assume they have some fans going. I will not allow my guys up in an attic after 10 am or so in this temp. unless it is for 5 minutes max.
 
Back in the Navy days--work in the main spaces was carefully monitored--for example-- 5 minutes hard work on the boiler fronts(120 degrees) meant 45 minutes above deck in fresh air--and yes fluids were monitored, someone made sure you were drinking and peeing and taking your breaks.

Don't mess with the heat guys and gals--it can and will kill--BE SAFE!
 
Last week in Dallas a tower climber became dehydrated at the top of a 760-foot radio tower. He became disoriented, got out of his safety harness and collapsed on a platform. Firefighters climbed up but couldn't reach him...they were able to throw him an IV bag of saline solution which he drank out of. He recovered enough to get back in the harness and the firemen were able to get him down the tower...rescue time was seven hours.
 
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