The Phone Number
Lonnie Click, fire chief for Benton County, Washington, has a phone number for BNSF Railway. Once a month during fire season, one of them calls the other. They're coordinating about the fire train—two tank cars full of water, a pump car, and a caboose that serves as a command center.
The railroad won't tell you who decides when to slow the trains. Someone in Fort Worth or Kansas City is making daily calls about heat restrictions, fire response, operational risk. The railroads spend $23 billion annually hardening their networks. Click has their phone number. He doesn't know their names.
The Phone Number
Lonnie Click, fire chief for Benton County, Washington, has a phone number for BNSF Railway. Once a month during fire season, one of them calls the other. They're coordinating about the fire train—two tank cars full of water, a pump car, and a caboose that serves as a command center.
The railroad won't tell you who decides when to slow the trains. Someone in Fort Worth or Kansas City is making daily calls about heat restrictions, fire response, operational risk. The railroads spend $23 billion annually hardening their networks. Click has their phone number. He doesn't know their names.
The Actuary Who Can't Calculate Whether to Have Children
CONTINUE READINGThis Week's System Shock
OSHA's first-ever federal heat safety standard finished its comment period in October and should become law by late 2025. The rule is straightforward: employers must provide water and rest breaks when the heat index reaches 80°F. At 90°F, workers get mandatory paid 15-minute breaks every two hours.
This covers outdoor and indoor work—construction sites, farm fields, warehouses, restaurant kitchens, manufacturing floors. Anywhere workers face heat above 80°F without reliable air conditioning. OSHA issued over $2 million in heat penalties last year alone, a preview of what enforcement looks like. Legal challenges will come, probably delaying things. But the shift from voluntary guidelines to actual requirements is happening.
