The message is especially important now, when much of the country is in the midst of a heat wave. According to information from the National Weather Service, the high temperature could reach 94 today, July 8.
McLean said along with daily safety meetings, he makes sure there’s plenty of water on hand. Roofers often don’t get much shade, so during the hottest times of the year, work crews start as early as 5 a.m., allowing them to get a full day’s work in just as the heat begins to reach its peak. In recent years, the company also began to buy large quantities of Sqwincher, a type of sports drink to help workers keep hydrated.
“It gives them a nice alternative to drinking water all day,” McLean said.
Val Herdman, manager at the Pool at New Carlisle, said she also makes sure the lifeguards on her staff use sunscreen each day, and she encourages them to hop in the pool when they get a chance.
The guards rotate positions every 15 minutes, and there are umbrellas at many of the guard chairs.
“I’m constantly asking them if they have water,” Herdman said.
Jack Sommers, a Champaign County farmer, has a different challenge. He has to make sure the 500 pigs on his farm stay cool.
That can be tough because the ideal temperature for the animals is 65 degrees.
Along with numerous fans, his barn also includes a cooling system that sprinkles water on the animals every few minutes if it begins to get too hot. On the hottest days, he’ll get in the barn and hose them down himself.
“This morning (July 7) it started at 10 a.m. and it will run all day and into the evening until it cools down,” Sommers said of the sprinkler system.
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0355 or msanctis@coxohio.com.
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