Firefighters Struggle in Heat
By: Import User
Updated: August 15, 2007
Some jobs make it impossible to escape the heat.
Springfield firefighters, for example, have no choice but to suit up and respond when a fire call comes out.
Several arrived at the Econo Lodge motel near Battlefield and Highway 65 when smoke was reported coming from a back area.
Because a motel creates the potential for evacuation, dispatchers send a lot of firefighters.
Officials say the larger number allows them to rotate in and out of the fire scene and take breaks in the 100 degree weather.
The motel blaze was small- confined to a filtering system on the pool.
But initially, crews had to wear all their heavy gear to check out the building. Those conditions are a big challenge to firefighters this time of year, said firefighter Hank Owen. "It's kinda hard. We drink a lot of water and try to stay hydrated. If you want to imagine what it's like, go put on all your winter clothes and run around the yard and carry a lot of heavy things. That's the way we feel when we're wearing all this stuff."
No one was hurt in today's fire.
