The heat wave afflicting much of the U.S. claimed a construction worker near Tucson—a stark reminder of the danger heat poses to those in the building trades. Mark Geise, 44, died of apparent heat-related illness on June 19 while constructing a propane filling station at a Costco store. A resident of Indiana, Geise was employed by Seese Construction, Monrovia, Ind., according to his obituary.
The Marana Police Dept. and OSHA are investigating. It was the third heat-related death of an out-of-state resident in Tucson in the past month (the others were not construction related). After Geise collapsed at around 4:30 p.m., bystanders called 911 and began CPR. Arriving five minutes later, paramedics began advanced life support on Geise, which included CPR, heart monitoring, drugs and intravenous therapy, but were unable to revive him after 20 minutes, when he was pronounced dead at the scene, says Capt. Adam Goldberg of the Northwest Fire Rescue District.