A telecoms technician working on a telco tower remains in critical condition after suffering heat stroke while working on a 300ft guyed tower in Navasota, Texas.

31-year-old Jared Farley from Plantersville, Texas, had a heart attack and became unconscious on 15 June while working aloft in 98 degrees Fahrenheit (36.6C) temperatures, Wireless Estimator reports.

It took three hours for emergency services to rescue Farley last week.

Farley is showing signs of improvement this week, but is still on a ventilator in an intensive care unit at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Bryan, according to his mother Tracy Phifer, who has set up a GoFundMe page to help with medical and other expenses.

At 4:30 pm local time on June 15, Navasota Fire Department (NFD) responded to a call from Mid-South Synergy facilities on Highway 6 North reporting a worker suffering from a possible heat-related illness on the tower. NFD requested assistance from Bryan Fire Department’s Technical Rescue Team.

Farley, who has been working as a tower technician for 12 years, is a third-party contractor at Brazos Electric Cooperative, said a City of Navasota press release.

A fellow employee, who was uninjured, was with Farley up the tower, with a third colleague at ground level when a Navasota fire fighter arrived finding Farley unconscious.

Bryan Fire arrived, and lowered Farley to the ground using a rope rescue system. He was transferred to St. Joseph EMS for treatment, and then by Air Med 12 to a local hospital.

To best combat heat stroke scenarios playing out, NATE, the Communications Infrastructure Contractors Association, advises that tower crews wear light-colored cotton clothing, climb slower, and take on more frequent climbing breaks, while also climbing with partners to better monitor potential heat stress situations.

DCD wishes Farley a swift recovery.