Some County Crews Starting at 5 a.m. to Avoid Afternoon Heat

At last Thursday’s commissioner’s court meeting, Pct. 4 Commissioner Drew Brossmann reported that his road and bridge department changed their work schedule to avoid the daytime heat.

“Since the heat is so extreme, you might see our guys working different hours,” Brossmann said. “We’re coming in way earlier in the morning to get the job done. We were doing some paving yesterday and today, so we’re coming in around 5 a.m. If you see our guys around town at 1:30 or 2 p.m., they’re off the clock.”

Later in the meeting, Brossmann asked EMS Director Josh Vandever if he has seen an increase in heat-related calls.

“Not only for patients, but we’ve had some crews getting pretty dehydrated on calls,” Vandever said. “We had a couple of wrecks with extrications of the past weeks, and a couple of times members of our crews and firefighters have gone to the ambulance to cool down.”

Vandever said the EMS Department has been purchasing water to keep on hand for firefighters and other personnel responding to emergencies.

“We’re trying to keep everyone hydrated and safe,” Vandever said.

“It’s really nice that y’all come to all the house fires and structure fires,” said Brossmann, who also serves as an assistant fire chief for the Schulenburg Volunteer Fire Department. “It’s really nice and comforting to know y’all are there in case something happens to us.”