One of the Hottest Jobs in the City - FOX 42: Omaha News, Sports and Weather; kptm.com |

Franque Thompson

OMAHA (KPTM)- Omaha has officially set the record high in heat.  And there are people still working outside and beating the heat on a daily basis.  At Lanoha Garden Nursery, one of the hottest jobs in the city, employees tough it out in the extreme heat.

"You know, it's kind of funny. But people and plants, there's a connection there.  You gotta push the fluids in these extremes," said Mike Fink, general manager of Lanoha.

Hard at work in the heat isn't the easiest to handle.

"It's just been almost exhausting with the heat.  But we're not going to get rid of it anytime soon," said Alicia Schiltz, sales manager of Lanoha.

"The first few weeks of this intense heat I just slept a lot.  I get like 12 hours of sleep a day and I just keep hydrated and that was very shocking," said Lanoha employee, Savannah McDonald.

But for some, it is doable.

"I think you'd be surprised at how quickly your body can adapt if it really needs to," said McDonald.

"We muscle through it and we make it to the end of the day and the sun starts going down and we feel pretty good about ourselves," said Schiltz.

One thing they stress at Lanoha is employee safety.  Since there's so much work done outside, they say it's extremely important their employees take breaks, wear protective sunscreen, find a shaded area to rest and always drink plenty of water.

"When you start seeing that sign, you ask them, "are you feeling ok?' sometimes they'll try to avoid that issue, but once you think it's reached a point you just have them go inside, don't worry about it.  Go inside, please.  Take a break," said Fink.

"It's just not worth getting sick, it's not worth getting hurt," said McDonald.

Some have had to learn the hard way.

"It was a pretty hot day, it was back in May.  And I didn't drink enough water and it scared me because I got home and I was actually throwing up.  And I was like, ‘This is not good.' So, then after that I forced myself to drink water and that one of the things that I double check to make sure our employees are also making sure they are drinking plenty of water," said Schiltz.

So, they've each got a couple tricks to stay cool.

"I wear this fun little hat. I get made fun of a lot because I look kind of like a dork, but it keeps me cool and it keeps me protected from the sun," said Schiltz.

"We all just kind of intentionally take the route through the sprinkler system.  It's so fun.  And it really does cool you off a lot.  Like, I feel so much better afterwards."