With last week’s high temperatures in our teens or 20s at best, most of us have been content to stay warm in our homes and offices. But for some, braving the cold and bad weather is part of everyday life.
“That old saying – ‘you gotta make hay when the sun is shining’ – in the towing business, you gotta make money when the snow blows,” said Brian Delmont, director of American Auto and Truck Towing at North Jackson and Austintown. During a severe weather event, “you don’t know when you’re going to go home, eat or take a break,” he said.
Delmont said her father, Sonny Delmont, also a tow truck driver with American Auto, received 13 calls during Monday’s big snowstorm, about triple the normal call volume for a day.
Veterans of the trade, the Delmonts know how to stay warm and dry at work.
“We buy hand warmers in bulk and always keep an extra set of socks and boots in the truck because you won’t go far with wet feet,” Brian Delmont said. The same goes for wet hands, he said, which is why each of American Auto’s six tow trucks is outfitted with plenty of gloves.
THE WATER
Niles water department workers also know wet conditions and work in all weathers, whenever a water main breaks — and it can be brutal, said city water superintendent Kevin Robertson. .
“Bad weather is part of the job,” Robertson said.
He said crews brought industrial “torpedo” heaters to keep equipment and pumps warm, and workers repairing cracks in the floor were occasionally replaced so they could warm up in front of the heater or in a truck. In addition, the city allocates money to buy warm jackets, bibs, gloves and boots for water workers.
In winter, temperatures fluctuate, causing the ground to freeze and thaw and shift pipes. The aging infrastructure common in the Mahoning Valley can easily break under the strain.
“It doesn’t take much,” Robertson said. His crew responded to around seven breaks on Tuesday and Wednesday last week alone, he said – and some of those breaks lasted overnight.
“We could get a call at 1 p.m. or 1 a.m.,” Robertson said.
He asked residents to be patient because the water service, made up of a dozen people, sometimes responds to more than one break at a time.
FIRE
Harsh weather conditions can also be a concern for first responders such as firefighters.
“As we spray the water through the pipes, our equipment gets soaked in it,” Austintown Fire Captain Tom Metzinger said. He said wet equipment can freeze easily when firefighters move away from the fire they’re fighting, and frozen equipment can become stiff and limit dexterity, making the job even more difficult.
“When it’s cold like this, it’s quite an experience to be covered in water,” Metzinger said, adding that warming up and drying off usually involves returning to the resort, letting the gear thaw out, and getting out of the way. switch to emergency equipment.
In the event of a fire, snow and ice buildup can also create a slip hazard and make it difficult to get to fire hydrants, Metzinger said. After a big snowstorm, it’s important for residents who have fire hydrants to shovel them out, clearing about three feet on each side, so firefighters can get to them quickly if needed.
In extreme cold, firefighters must also keep truck and pump valves from freezing. Pipes generally don’t freeze as long as water is flowing, Metzinger said, so firefighters sometimes “break” a full pipe and let some water flow.
When water collects on the ground, firefighters call the highway department to salt that area so it doesn’t become icy and dangerous.
ART
Of course, it’s not just emergencies like fires, floods and flat tires that send people into bad weather: Kinsman-based photographer Rebecca Nieminen prefers to work on stormy days.
“I guess I’m friends with severe weather,” said Nieminen, who said she religiously watches the forecast to see when gales hit Lake Erie.
“The average person is thrilled to go to the beach on a hot sunny day. I want to go when the weather is awful. It’s so incredibly beautiful when the lake is angry like that,” Nieminen said.
She captured images of waves big enough to engulf lighthouses and marveled at ice-covered beaches. She keeps wellies, gloves and hats in her car so she can stay warm while braving the elements, she said, but most of the time she’s so committed to her job she says that she does not notice the cold.
avugrincic@tribtoday.com
