Tallahassee Carrier Tells TV Viewers About Working in the Heat

Special Report: Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Heat

Courtesy of WCTV-CBS  Tallahassee, Florida

We've been seeing temperatures in the 90s for several weeks now. While that may be uncomfortable for you and me consider this: Mail carriers have to jump in and out of their trucks all day long; and with no air conditioning in the vehicles...they're stuck with working under conditions of "hot" or "hotter."

Eyewitness News spent a summer day with a mail carrier for our special report, "Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Heat."

Cameron Hill says, "I got a long way to go."

Long way to go? For veteran postal worker Cameron Hill, doing a lot of work is no sweat.

He says, "It's hot, extremely hot out here."

Okay, there is a lot of sweat involved. Hill says this time of year can feel almost unbearable at times.

Just standing there putting pieces of mail in these box units at a Tallahassee apartment complex can be grueling.

"This job is very difficult during the summertime." Hill says.

He adds, "Standing here delivering the mail is a whole lot better than being in the truck because it's about 10 to 15 degrees hotter inside the truck."

Because Hill's route is mainly businesses and apartment complexes, he spends a lot of time outside of the truck.

We haven't been able to find out why mail trucks don't have air conditioning, even though the United States Postal Service is the operator of the largest vehicle fleet in the world.

But, nonetheless, Hill says he does what he can to try to stay cool. He says, "It is very important to stay hydrated out here because this sun is draining. I like to bring a cooler and keep my towel soaking in the ice water. Every so often I take a break, wipe my face off, put the towel behind my neck. That kind of keeps my body temperature down some."

When he doesn't have his cool towel and cooler, customers on his route have his back.

"Most of the time someone's here waiting on me with a bottle of water or paper towel, saying, here Mr. Mailman, wipe your face. It makes me feel real good to know that the public knows that it's really hot outside and this job is not so easy." He says.

Tallahassee resident Sam Miller lives on Hill's route. He says, "It's every day of the year, rain or sunshine, they're out there. So, it's a service we sure appreciate."

Hill says his last stop at an apartment complex can take an hour to do.

He says, "Our slogan around the office is, good mailmen don't get wet. But, when it's hot like this..."

When it's "hot like this" you end up with a uniform soaked in sweat by the end of the day.

But, on days when Hill doesn't have his cooler or good samaritans around to give him water, it's up to Mother Nature to help him catch a break.

When a breeze came by and he was asked how it felt, Hiil says, "It's wonderful. The temperature just dropped ten degrees. It feels like winter time again."

The United States Postal Service says it delivers 177 billion pieces of mail every year.