Heber Springs, Arkansas – Following the storms last Sunday that left hundreds without internet access and power, many people have been working nonstop.
Workplace health issues are a result of the high heat.
“It is scary, it is very scary,” Kevin Durham, the man who passed out in the heat stated.
On June 25, when heavy rain and wind blew through the natural state, many lost electricity, and workers started to restore it.
“We were working from basically 6:30-7 a.m. until we were done, it’s no breaks,” Durham said.
Temperatures soar into the triple digits as the sun beats down.
“It is hot,” Durham stated. “From my understanding the heat index was around 115.”
The symptoms of heat fatigue were beginning to affect Kevin Durham.
He started feeling lightheaded and short of breath while on the job site with his crew.
“I’m just walking down the side of the road and the next thing I know, I wake up in the other side of the ditch, just hit kind of head first,” Durham said.
Kevin reported having a bruised and scratched-up nose as a result of waking up quite dizzy and with a heart rate of 216.
He started driving to the ER in his truck, but he almost didn’t make it.
“It was quite shocking. I almost passed out two more times trying to get back to the emergency room,” Durham said.
Durham claimed to have consumed a lot of liquids that day, but he is grateful to be alive and well and will keep drinking as much water as he can.
“Heat stroke is extremely serious, we have got to take heat to that, it is extremely serious,” Durham said.