St. Louis-area workers cope with the heat on hot jobs

ST. LOUIS (First Alert 4) — Some workers can’t avoid the intense summer heat because their jobs require them to be outdoors.

Kory Bright’s been in the lawncare business for the last five years. He told First Alert 4 that it’s important to start early on a hot day and drink lots of water or sports drinks.

“Most people don’t know, long sleeves it keeps me more hydrated and blocks the sun,” he said.

The protective clothing that firefighters wear is known as turnout gear. Even when it’s not the dead of summer, the gear and the flames of a fire can take a toll on firefighters.

This week the Rock Community Fire Protection District struck a second alarm while fighting a house fire. The goal when doing that is to bring in extra firefighters.

Alyson Rotter is a spokesperson for the Rock Community Fire Protection District.

“We do that for extreme heat, we also do that for extreme cold to keep everybody safe. So we’ll put them into rehab to rehydrate and cool down a little bit and then we’ll cycle them back through. So, it just gives us more manpower on the scene,” she said.

One of the hottest jobs in the summer is preparing food in a food truck without air conditioning. First Alert 4 caught up with Quen Bell, owner of the Treaux’s Cajun BBQ food truck. She said she and her workers drink a lot of water and use wet towels to cope with the heat.

“You just sort of get past that complaining point and just get excited to feed people. And then it’s at the end of the day you think, why am I so wiped out,” said Bell.

Another food truck owner said the heat of a grill can send the temperature inside a food truck to nearly 20 degrees hotter than the outside temperature.

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