Horry County Fire Rescue firefighters on the scene of a house fire in Little River.
/ Whitney Gramling
With the heat index reaching more than 100 degrees, firefighters have to stay focused on their job and their health.
"I'm worried about them because the heat is so oppressive and everything is so dry," said Diana Schwarz, who watched crews put out a fire at her neighbors home in Little River.
"In this type of weather sometimes your core body temperature can rise anywhere up to almost 104 degrees so you really have to take a lot of precautions," said Capt. Greg Rogers with Horry County Fire Rescue.
When the mercury soars, two to three times the manpower is called to fires. That way one crew can rest while another goes in to to battle a fire.
"In this type of heat a lot of times we can only do about 15 minutes of work come back rehab for 15, 20 minutes before we can go back in and do some more work," explained Rogers.
But the preparations begins long before firefighters are called to the scene. They keep a close eye on when heat advisories are issued.
"Usually we try to hydrate even before we come to work the night before, you start taking in fluids, that way you're good for the shift. We know that any minute we could be working in this heat for extended periods of time," said Rogers.
Rogers went on to say when they respond to heat related calls, they know exactly what the victim is going through.
If you must spend an extended amount of time outside on days like today make sure you stay hydrated and take breaks.
