FOND DU LAC (NBC 26) — Fond du Lac is one of many neighborhoods in northeast Wisconsin that will be under an excessive heat warning on Wednesday.
City officials and construction workers are preparing to face some of the hottest temperatures in years.
These workers spend all day outside facing the elements year ‘round. And while Wisconsin winters are notoriously difficult, Jason Harrison and Hunter Davis said the winter isn’t the worst type of weather they face.
“I’d rather work in the cold, because in the heat you can only take so many layers off compared to the winter you can put as many on as you need,” Davis said.
Harrison agreed that heat is more difficult for workers than the chilling winter temperatures.
“The heat, that’s always the hard one,” Harrison said. “People notice it more in the cold, where heat can just overtake you some days.”
Davis and Harrison operate sewer and pipe cleaning machines, and they say working together to identify heat exhaustion is important on their team.
“You gotta watch out for your coworker a lot of times, because a lot of times they might not see it if they do get the heat exhaustion,” Harrison said. “They'll overwork themselves and sometimes it's too late by the time you notice it yourself.”
Supervisors and city officials are taking precautions to support these workers.
“We are actually starting a little early an hour early tomorrow to try to combat the heat.” Supervisor Nick Dilts said. “We're gonna be starting at 5 a.m. So you guys aren't going to be out in the hottest part of the day as long tomorrow.”
And during that midday heat, the workers will be indoors.
“We’re going to have a lunch and learn for our staff tomorrow or during the midday where we're going to have a little cookout to appreciate the hard work that they do, but also give them some time to get acclimated with some of our new equipment,” Ada Schmitt, construction and maintenance superintendent, said.
Workers will still be available to take care of any crumbling concrete caused by the heat.
“Concrete can can start heaving because of the expansion … so we could have unforeseen larger potholes on our concrete roads,” Schmitt said.
The city is making sure the workers are armed with lots of water and know how to identify signs of heat exhaustion in themselves and others.
“You'll get a dizzy kind of lightheaded feeling almost,” Davis said. “You just kind of seem out of it. You just can't seem to quite think quite right or lose your thoughts.”
But some workers, like Davis, say don’t mind being in the heat — as long as they can be outside.
“It's just nice to be out in nature,” Davis said. “I think that over-weighs the bad days.”
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