BY RAUL A. ANGULO AND JEREMIAH LOZIER AUGUST 3, 2011, WAS THE HOTTEST DAY OF THE month in the greater Fort Worth, Texas, area with daily temperatures well above 100°F. According to the National Weather Service–Fort Worth-Alliance station, the high temperature for August 3 was 112°F-ultimately the highest of the year! The highs in the surrounding areas ranged from 109°F to 112°F and were still above 100°F that Wednesday night. Most Texans usually stay indoors with air-conditioning, but for 25-year-old Mike Howard and his colleagues, it was just another day at the office. Their “office” that day was an 800-foot triangular communications tower in Johnson County. The professional tower climbers started climbing the tower about 9:00 a.m. to perform routine maintenance and change out some communication equipment. They were all supposed to come down at about 5:00 p.m., but constant exposure to the record heat would take its toll on…
