Multimedia Report - Strategies for working in the heat

By Jill Bhowmik, Alma McDonald and Juli Stricklan

Phoenix is hot. Really hot. According to weather.com, on an average June day the low is 73 degrees and the high is 104 degrees. Workers in Phoenix must develop strategies for working in the heat.

Four out of the five workers interviewed mentioned the importance of drinking water and staying hydrated. In fact, heat sickness is a real concern for these Phoenix residents.

“It’s almost like a concussion. You don’t feel right for about a week in your head,” said Kenny Zinser, who supervises the valets at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown. He added that he has never experienced heat sickness at work because the Sheraton has lots of water available for the workers.

Chad Boontjer and Dave Pusch of Alliance Fire Protection spend their days working with pipe and installing fire sprinklers.

“If we’re in a confined area…we’ll try to go to an open area,” Boontjer said about how they alter their work conditions on an extra hot day. Although their job is to install sprinklers, they are not tempted to set them off, even on the hottest of days.

“The water is smelly and kind of stagnant. You wouldn’t want that water on you. It is just to save your life,” Pusch said.

Jim Camuso works for FedEx delivering packages. He said he keeps the doors of his FedEx truck open, because otherwise “It’s like a greenhouse.”

Camuso said he does not mind the heat on a working day, but said he does feel the heat on his days off.

Alex, who did not give his last name, has worked at Coldstone Creamery for the past three years. He was the only worker not concerned with the heat while he works because according to him, the heat is good for the ice cream business.

“We like the summer. We hate the winter,” Alex said. He added that he gets lots of tips on a hot day.

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This is Jim Camuso's office on wheels. (photo by Juli Stricklan)

Alex has worked at Coldstone Creamery for three years. (photo by Juli Stricklan)