SIOUX CITY, Iowa (Iowa Media Wire)– On a hot summer day, people tend to cool off by staying inside or heading to the pool. However, that’s not always an option for the people who have to work outside.
“Our summers are always the same,” Sergeant Tom Gill with the Sioux City Police Department said. “We always get some brutally hot days.”
While the police typically aren’t outside for long periods of time, when equipment goes awry, officers have to deal with the heat in their squad car.
“One of the worst experience I had is working right here in Sioux City on a summer afternoon, and the air conditioning in my squad car went out,” Sergeant Gill said. “When your air conditioning goes out in your squad car, that makes the shift go a little bit longer.”
While firefighters are out on a call, officials are not only dealing with the heat from the fire, but from the temperatures outside.
“We have had crew members having to leave incidents by ambulance because of the overexertion and the heat exhaustion that they received while inside that fire,” Captain Ryan Collins, with Sioux City Fire Rescue said.
From these experiences, Sergeant Gill and Captain Collins learned from these incidents.
“As they start to sweat and they start losing those electrolytes, then you can start supplementing your water with Gatorade and those types of hydration fluids,” Captain Collins said.
“Always choose a newer squad car because the newest squad cars usually don’t have any problem with air conditioning or any mechanical issues,” Sergeant Gill said. “It’s the older ones that have high miles that you want to try to avoid.”
While firefighters and police officers have a place to get out of the heat, lifeguards are stuck outside with only an umbrella to block out the sun.
“I’ve definitely gotten like just like tired a lot, especially at the end of the days,” Lewis Pool lifeguard Kyrie Ollrundmi said. “But I know a couple of my friends last year, they got sun poisoning, and, like, it can get really bad, especially if you’re not fully aware of how dangerous it can be.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, sun poisoning is a very severe sunburn that is similar to an allergic reaction. Ollrundmi took her friend’s experience and applied it to how she prepares for work.
“I definitely hydrate a lot more now,” she said. “I guess being around water and being in water, you kind of forget that you also need to be drinking water.”
Captain Collins said that from his time fighting the heat, drinking water the day before and on days off can help prevent heat-related illnesses.