Working Up a Sweat In the Hot Outdoors

For some, the office is outside and the only relief from the heat and the smog is an occasional breeze.

John Goss is one of those people.

A yard superintendent at Terry Lumber Co. in Northridge, Goss, 31, is responsible for a work crew of 25. Using forklifts and other heavy machinery to assemble loads of lumber for new home and office construction, he said the current building boom is making for 12-hour days that begin at 6 a.m.

“Everybody is pretty well run down by about 2 o’clock. The heat begins to fry your brains after a while,” Goss said, adding that the asphalt gets up to about 120 degrees.

Bruce Radenbaugh, 36, of Bilt-Well Roofing of Glassell Park has been working up a sweat in the San Fernando Valley for 15 years.

“You’ve gotta work quickly and you gotta keep moving,” he said about being a roofer during the hot summer months. “We usually wet the roof down and keep it wet up there, borrowing the customer’s hose and hosing ourselves down as well.”

When not behind a desk, Dennis P. Zine, 41, a motorcycle supervisor for the Los Angeles Police Department, is patrolling the Valley on his Kawasaki 1000.

Engine Heat

“You get that heat rising from the engine,” said Zine “and there are many days it feels like I’m in an oven; like Mom’s making bread and you open the oven door and that hot blast hits you.”

Zine said he also notices the effect the heat has on motorists. “When it gets 100-plus, people’s fuses become shorter” and they become more aggressive and hostile.

For a working LAPD motorcycle officer, the heat is more uncomfortable because of the uniform--heavy wool pants designed for protection if the rider hits the pavement, a bulletproof vest, pistol, spare bullets, a night stick, handcuffs, gloves, boots and helmet. “You just bear with it,” Zine said, adding that after a while he gets used to the temperature.

Gracie Casillas, 30, is a letter carrier in the Chatsworth Branch of the post office who works a route on DeSoto between Devonshire and Lassen. On a typical work day, she delivers about 2,500 letters and 400 magazines--not including junk mail--in 900 individual stops.

“Sometimes you die out there,” Casillas said. “You can’t really stop and relax and take it easy. You’ve got lunch but that’s about it. I must have lost five pounds today.”

And it’s not much better for airline employees such as Rob Borucki, 22, a customer service representative with America West Airlines at the Burbank airport.

When he’s not behind the ticket counter, Borucki is pounding the pavement as a “ramp rat,” part of the ground crew that takes care of loading and unloading baggage. At least a of couple times a day he has to crawl inside the hot belly of a 737. “The heat is magnified out on the asphalt ramp,” Borucki said, “It just kind of wells up at you and wears you out faster.”

To keep it together in the heat, everyone said they drink liquids and watch for problems.

“You pace yourself,” Goss said. “You go fast in the morning and take her slow in the evening.” He wears a short-sleeved shirt and a hat at all times. His drink of choice is water. “Not too fast and not too much during the day. I stay away from the sugary drinks.”

Goss is most concerned about someone in his crew getting a headache. “It means they’re getting dehydrated and have been out there too long,” he said. “They need a rest.”

Weight Loss

There can be a plus side to the heat, Goss said. “We’ve got one guy who started two weeks ago at 258 pounds. Now he’s under 250.”

“We take our shirts off and get a nice tan,” said roofer Radenbaugh. “The heat really affects us, and we have to take a break every couple of hours. We perspire a lot and drink a lot of Cokes. Coke is the in drink. Plenty of ice and ice water as a chaser.

“We always watch each other, looking for signs of dizziness. We wear sunglasses, take salt tablets and always put a hat on. It’s a good job, I’m always out in the open. Thank goodness for a cool breeze, though.”

People in uniform stay as comfortable as possible by drinking plenty of liquids. LAPD’s Zine prefers iced tea; postal worker Casillas opts for water. Added Casillas, “And on my day off, whenever I see my mailman, I give him something to drink.”