Most people rolled up their sleeves today and spent as much time in the air conditioning as possible, but for thousands of people in North Texas, a day inside is not an option because they must work in the summer sun.
Oncor workers have some of the hottest jobs in North Texas.
“I'm a distribution operations technician,” Devin Dowdy said. “My job is to keep the lights on.”
To keep the lights on the workers have to pack on a lot of protection.
“[We have] a face sock, face shield, gloves and [rubber] sleeves,” Dowdy said.
According to dowdy, the absolutely worst part of the gear in the heat is the face shield.
“When you are breathing and it doesn't really have anywhere to go,” he chuckled.
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They wear the gear no matter what and no matter what the temperature climbs to.
“This is what we wear every day. Day in and day out,” he said. “Depending on the job, sometimes it can be up to three to four hours and it gets very hot.”
The crews take several precaution to keep everyone safe in the heat.
“It gets very hot. You just have to take preemptive measures and start drinking water early,” Dowdy said. “Usually I will take two to three breaks an hour.”
The crews work together as a weather-watching unit.
“We are our brothers’ keepers. I watch him and he watches me. When I'm starting to feel it, he's probably feeling it too. We will both take a break,” Dowdy said.
In the long run they said they don’t mind the gear, because it will help ensure they get home at the end of their shifts.
“We are trying our best to keep your lights on and as long as safety is on the mind and I get to make it home to my family at the end of the day it's a good day,” Dowdy said.
