SCRANTON — For people who work outside for a living, the forecast for a heat wave means a lot of sweaty days on the job. Some dread these hot days, others don’t mind them because they’ve come up with ways to cope with the heat.
The work must go on for Bart Pirino and Butch Phillips of Master Handyman. This hot week isn’t stopping their renovations to a house in west Scranton.
“I hate it, I hate it. It kills me. It kills me but you’ve got to do it, you know what I mean?” Phillips asked.
“It’s a living. There’s nothing else you can do,” said Pirino.
But Pirino tries to plan the day around the hot sun, moving the work into the shade as much as possible.
“Sun comes up on this side, try to work in the back in the morning. In the afternoon, the sun’s on the back, you try to work in the front.”
“If you got a good boss, he works you the right way and takes you around the building, like he said it helps,” Phillips added.
Joe Porta with Affordable Lawncare in Scranton moves from lawn to lawn all day long. He won’t let the heat slow him down.
“I love it. It doesn’t bother me at all. I love working outdoors. I love the heat. I love lawn care work.”
He’s learned some tricks along the way, such as light meals, lots of water.
“If you get too over heated, you just hose off a little bit. Main spot you want to cool off is your wrist. That will bring your body temperature down. I learned that from some paramedics in Philadelphia,” Porta said.
We only had to work outside in this heat for a little bit to do this story and we decided to give ourselves a little treat to cool off. We’re giving a lot of credit to those working out in this heat all day long. That includes a crew that had Cathedral Cemetery buzzing in the hot afternoon. They cope the best they can.
“I have water in the trunk to drink and try to stay in the shade while I’m working,” said Paul McElheny.
The growing grass isn’t taking a break during this hot spell and neither can the workers.
“I just hope it doesn’t get real, real hot, like in the hundreds.”
For tips on staying cool, click here.
