WESTLOCK - If you were unlucky enough to need a tow, or a boost, or accidentally locked your keys in your car during the cold snap last week, you may have met Marcus Payne.
The local tow-truck driver, who has been with County Towing for four years, had one of his busiest weeks in the industry last week, along with a list of other professionals throughout Westlock who are always there to give you a boost when the temperatures drops to indecent levels, sometimes literally.
“It’s a love or hate job,” said Payne as he returned to the County Towing shop between jobs Jan. 18.
He was on-call for the weekend, but thankfully on Saturday, the number of service calls was falling. Earlier in the week, it was constant, one after the other, he said.
County Towing’s office administrator Pam Hill said on a good day in the summer, the company might see 10-15 calls, but last week set a precedent.
“We’re just going through books like crazy. I don’t even know how many we’ve got. It has just been an insane blur, but everybody has been really good when we have to tell them it’s going to be three or four hours for a tow,” she said.
At the moment, the company has two drivers with two tow trucks and a service truck, which keeps the drivers busy to say the least.
It’s not unusual to see 18-hour days, said Payne.
“They’re troopers. I give them credit because I wouldn’t want to be out there,” said Hill.
Of course, in the case of an emergency, or a deserted driver in the bitter cold, the call is triaged, so to speak, and goes to the top of the list.
“As long as everyone is safe and warm, then we get to them as soon as we can,” said Hill.
Payne said he would also drop everything to rescue a child or a pet in a locked car, especially when the weather is as extreme as it was last week.
It’s a dangerous job and Payne reminds drivers, very nicely, that they are to slow down to at least 60 km/h when passing a tow truck on the job, you’ll recognize them by their flashing orange lights whether they are hooking up for a tow, unlocking a door, or boosting a frozen battery.
Speaking of batteries, they were flying off Westlock shelves all week.
NAPA Auto Parts owner Ryan Provencal said the store sold 87 batteries between Monday and Thursday, along with assorted block heaters, block heater cords and gasoline antifreeze.
On a sunny day in August, a battery sale is a rarity, he said, but the cold tends to push worn out batteries over the edge of functionality.
“Battery maintainers are always handy. If you have a maintainer on your battery it gives out a two-amp charge. You can plug it in and always give that battery a charge,” said Provencal.
“Honestly, when it’s -40 and you don’t start it for a couple days, nothing is helping.”
So let’s say you made it to work and every day, despite the likelihood of vehicle malfunctions of one kind, or another in the cold, only to get home and find your furnace is broken.
You’re going to have to call Total Plumbing and Heating, who will send someone out, even in the dead of night on the coldest night of the year, to make sure your furnace is operational.
“It has been hectic,” said assistant general manager Morgan Schwartz. “We go all night long basically. If you get home at 1 a.m., you’re going to go out again at 3 a.m.”
The company has eight servicemen to send out on calls across the region, but had to draw from the rest of the 35-member employee pool during peak times, like when an entire apartment building went down and a new boiler had to be installed quickly.
Schmidt said he expects a lot of calls this week as well as the furnaces that had to work so hard last week, fail to turn back on.
As a tip, Schmidt recommends checking your furnace filter and replacing it when necessary, as well as checking your outside vents for blockages.
“In temperatures like -45, weird things happen, so you have to check to make sure everything is fine.”
