Tarrant County

North Texas Essential Workers Bundle Up as Arctic Temps Make Outside Jobs Dangerous

NBC Universal, Inc.

Despite the threat of the dangerously low temperatures that arrived in Dallas-Fort Worth Thursday morning, some essential workers have no choice but to be outside.

Those who do, say they do what they can to prepare and encourage others to do the same.

Among them are father and son Andy and AJ Felps.

As Tarrant County Courtesy Patrol Operators, they say there’s no such thing as an inclement weather day.

“We’re on duty 365 days a year. We run two shifts, first and second shift. We run every morning from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., holidays included,” said Andy Felps.

As the arctic blast forced most Texans indoors, the Felpses layer up.

“Some guys have thermal stuff they wear under their clothes, boots, gloves, toboggan,” he said.

It’s essential prep work before they hit the road to get to stranded drivers.

Thursday, that included a family with a flat tire in need of some assistance. But Felps said they worry most for those who may run out of gas or need a jump start, leaving them stuck in bone-chilling cold.

“When it’s cold weather like this, if there’s any way to take some extra clothes or maybe some extra blankets in the back of the car, somewhere, so that way if you do get stranded you can at least try to bundle up and stay warm,” said Felps.

Every day, Felps said they respond as quickly as possible.

When dealing with weather like Thursday’s, he said they know how quickly they get to someone could be critical.

Still, Felps said there is some comfort in the fact roads remained dry Thursday morning as they did their best to keep themselves and others safe.

“If we just get the cold weather, I think we can deal with that as Texans,” he said.

For non-emergencies, Tarrant County Courtesy Patrol Operators can be reached at 817-884-1213.

If the situation is an emergency, motorists should call 911.

Contact Us