HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — You'd be hard-pressed to find another profession like high-voltage line workers where weather makes such a massive difference between routine and grueling days.
"We keep our boots handy by the door," Entergy Arkansas Supervisor Zack Rapier said. "They're ready to rock and roll."
Casey Ford, a lineman who works on Rapier's team, said they're always just one call away.
"If a 'lights out' call comes in or a trouble call comes in, we're the first ones called out," Ford said. "We show up... If it's something we can fix, we'll fix it. If it's something that we need a crew, we'll call a crew in to help."
Several line workers had to work in their backyards on May 8, responding to a tornado in Hot Springs.
"In a storm situation like this... you're going in that morning, and you aren't getting off for 16 hours," Ford said. "It's 16 hours straight, day after day until it's done."
And Entergy Arkansas was ready to respond.
"That night, dispatch, which is actually in Little Rock, called Mel and said, 'Hey, it looks like we're going to have a tornado through the area... probably need to start getting ready to come in,'" said Rapier, speaking the language of first responders, a characterization he thinks fits.
Like how a fire is a unique danger to firefighters, linemen face a threat most of us need to run from.
"Your awareness has got to be heightened a lot because you're going into something where there's usually wire and poles on the ground," Ford said of the situation linemen typically face after a storm. "You don't know if it's still energized. I mean, it's a whole different ball game."
Fallen Lineman Organization Director Mike Boyd said the job can be adrenaline-filled.
"We're doing our routine work, and then when the lights go out, it's the adrenaline rush," Boyd said.
The nonprofit exists because of the dangers of high-voltage work. Entergy has his number on speed dial, and volunteers and donations are helping Arkansas linemen right now.
"They had a gentleman that fell off a truck," Boyd said. "It's dangerous. You're way high up, and there's not a lot to hold on to... that kind of thing can happen."
Boyd said the organization is helping pay for that employee's surgery, while other efforts involve helping injured linemen and their families cope financially.
"We try to help them through their few months of paying their bills so they can kind of adjust," Boyd said, referring to the adjustments needed to transition to a new career or charge back out to the lines.