Rescued tower tech is showing some improvement but needs industry's prayers and financial support

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Rescued tower tech is showing some improvement but needs the industry’s prayers and financial support

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator June 20, 2023



Jared Farley, 31, is showing some signs of improvement this morning after he lost consciousness on a 300-foot Texas tower last Thursday afternoon. Farley was on the tower with another tech, and a third member of his crew was on the ground, but they relied upon Bryan, TX firefighters to rescue him. Farley is not married and does not have any children.

Jared Farley, a 31-year-old Plantersville, TX tower technician, remains in critical condition after he became unconscious following a heat stroke last Thursday while working on a 300-foot guyed tower in Navasota, TX, in 98 degrees Fahrenheit temperatures that remained in the mid-90s during a three-hour rescue by emergency responders.

Farley’s mother, Tracy Phifer, who traveled with her husband from Tennessee to be with their son, informed Wireless Estimator that he is on a ventilator in an intensive care unit at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Bryan. ... However, she said he is showing some signs of improvement. This morning he responded to voice commands to move his extremities and opened his eyes. ... The Tower Family Foundation has reached out to assist, and Phifer has started a GoFundMe page to help with medical and other expenses. Farley did not have insurance coverage.

Farley has been a tower technician for 12 years and was employed by Randal’s Tower Tech Inc. of Salado. ... OSHA’s database does not identify that the company has had any citations since it was established in 1998. ... Randal’s did not reply to a request for additional information regarding Farley’s rescue. ... Wireless Estimator was unable to contact crew members Dillon Smith of Onalaska, who was on the tower with Farley, or Casey Herbert, who was on the ground.

Unconscious tech’s condition is unknown after a three-hour rescue in sweltering high 90 degree temperatures

In Featured News by Wireless Estimator June 16, 2023

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LOCAL NEWS

Navasota Fire, other agencies make heat-related rescue on 300-foot high communications tower

The rescue happened at approximately 4:39 p.m., according to a release from the City of Navasota.

Author: KAGS Digital (KAGS)
Published: 11:36 PM CDT June 15, 2023
Updated: 11:36 PM CDT June 15, 2023

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[Croney]

1. "Farley is not married and does not have any children."

What an odd inclusion, in the first paragraph no less.

[3Hotdogs]

2. Wouldn't Workmen's Comp pay for his care and salary?

Yeah, I know, it's Texas. But still probably a factor.

[DBoon]

4. Texas is the ONLY state which does not require employers to carry Workers Comp

Employers who do have this insurance typically provide inadequate coverage

[UpInArms]

3. Wtf

Farley did not have insurance coverage.

The ACA offers coverage for EVERYONE …

Smh

[white cloud]

5. Abutt just passed a bill

That limit bathroom and water break to 4 hours. We had a postal worker die of heat stroke just last week. Be careful.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

6. Many states decline to require water breaks for outdoor workers in extreme heat

Many states decline to require water breaks for outdoor workers in extreme heat

Nearly 400 U.S. workers died of heat exposure over a decade.

BY: BARBARA BARRETT - JUNE 20, 2023 5:00 AM

Even as summer temperatures soar and states wrangle with protecting outdoor workers from extreme heat, Texas last week enacted a law that axes city rules mandating water and shade breaks for construction workers. ... In state after state, lawmakers and regulators have in recent years declined to require companies to offer their outdoor laborers rest breaks with shade and water. In some cases, legislation failed to gain traction. In others, state regulators decided against action or have taken years to write and release rules.

Heat causes more deaths in the United States each year than any other extreme weather. And in Texas, at least 42 workers died of heat exposure between 2011 and 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, though labor advocates say the number is much higher because other causes are cited in many deaths. ... A 2021 investigation by NPR and Columbia Journalism Investigations found nearly 400 workers had died of environmental heat exposure in the previous decade, with Hispanic workers — who make up much of the nation’s farm and construction workforce — disproportionately affected.

Climate change has brought more days of extreme heat each year on average, and scientists say that number will grow. Yet only three states — California, Oregon and Washington — require heat breaks for outdoor workers. Minnesota has a rule that sets standards for indoor workers, and Colorado’s heat regulations cover only farmworkers.

The new law in Texas, signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott last week, nullifies a slew of local ordinances in an ongoing battle between the conservative legislature and left-leaning cities such as Austin and Houston. The law, touted as pro-business by supporters, strips local authority in eight codes of law: agriculture, business and commerce, finance, insurance, labor, natural resources, occupations and property. Affected ordinances include rules on matters such as tenant evictions and wage practices. ... But one of the law’s most significant actions is to nullify ordinances in Austin and Dallas that mandated 10-minute breaks every four hours for construction workers to get water and shade. San Antonio had been considering a similar ordinance; now no city may impose such a rule.

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