Ever since they were little, Yonatan Vasquez was best friends with his brother Wilmer.
It wasn鈥檛 that they were so similar. Wilmer, the younger one, was an extrovert. 鈥淗e just wanted to be around people,鈥� Yonatan says. 鈥淗e was always encouraging people, making sure they were doing good. He liked to be the center of attention.鈥�
The brothers often worked together as roofers in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Wilmer would D.J. for the other guys in the work crew. 鈥淗e would dance on the roof,鈥� Yonatan remembers, laughing.
That鈥檚 not Yonatan. 鈥淚 could care less about people,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 the total opposite.鈥� The brothers鈥� differences extended to their hobbies. 鈥淗e liked rap music, I liked classic rock. He knew a lot about sports and movies. I like science stuff,鈥� Yonatan says.
And yet, they were close. It was like Wilmer understood what Yonatan was feeling, even if Yonatan didn鈥檛 say it. 鈥淭here was just a certain understanding there,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e had the same wavelength but different vibrations.鈥�
Despite their differences, both brothers ended up in the roofing business. Their father had also been a roofer, as were multiple uncles, so it was kind of the family profession. Although Yonatan says he wishes it wasn鈥檛.
鈥淚 wish I would have chose a different career path, honestly,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檇 rather be something else.鈥� Wilmer has a young son, and Yonatan says when the boy grows up, he鈥檒l encourage him to avoid a career in roofing. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 need a third generation roofer,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a hard job.鈥�
Summer is the most dangerous time for roofers, Yonatan says. During the summer, temperatures in South Florida routinely get extremely high. Human-caused climate change is causing more intense heat waves that last longer, and people who work outside are some of the most at-risk for deadly heat illness.
Working on a roof is particularly punishing. There鈥檚 no shade, and workers often have to work with hot materials. 鈥淚f you touch one of the tiles, it burns your hands,鈥� Yonatan says. 鈥淓specially the asphalt shingles, they absorb a lot of heat.鈥�
And in places where there鈥檚 a lot of humidity, like Florida, conditions can quickly become deadly. That鈥檚 what killed Wilmer last summer, Yonatan says. He worries he could be next.
A normal day at work became deadly
In the months leading up to Wilmer鈥檚 death, Yonatan had been trying to convince his brother to leave the roofing business. He says both he and his brother coped with the stress 鈥� physical and emotional 鈥� by drinking too much. They both suffered from muscle cramps and dizziness on hot days at work, but it happened to Wilmer more often.
鈥淚鈥檓, like, 鈥楳aybe try a factory. Try something [where] you work inside, cuz I don鈥檛 think you can handle outside,鈥� 鈥� Yonatan remembers suggesting to his brother.
But Wilmer wasn鈥檛 convinced. 鈥淸He was], like, 鈥楴o, but if I鈥檓 a truck driver I鈥檓 gonna talk to nobody. Just me all alone,鈥� 鈥� Yonatan remembers. Solitary indoor work didn鈥檛 appeal to Wilmer鈥檚 extrovert personality.
Last July and August were the hottest ever recorded in South Florida. The heat index, which incorporates both temperature and humidity, was for 46 days in a row in neighboring Miami.
On August 21, 2023, both Yonatan and Wilmer went to work as usual. Yonatan remembers it was a humid day, with temperatures in the 90s.
Wilmer was assigned to deliver roofing tiles in the morning, and then around noon, he got up on a roof to install wood along the eave. Yonatan finished his work at a different site, and at some point that afternoon, he started getting calls from Wilmer鈥檚 colleagues.
鈥淚 remember people calling me [saying], 鈥楬ey, how鈥檚 your brother? He really cramped up today, man,鈥� 鈥� Yonatan remembers.
Someone gave Wilmer a ride home. Yonatan could see that his brother was sick from the heat. His muscles were cramping, he was dizzy. He didn鈥檛 want to be in air conditioned spaces. 鈥淎ny time we鈥檇 put AC on him or a fan, he鈥檇 tell us to take it away,鈥� Yonatan says.
Muscle cramps, dizziness, and feeling cold, even though the body is overheating, are common symptoms of .
Wilmer鈥檚 condition worsened overnight, and he died at the hospital the next morning. Yonatan was his brother鈥檚 emergency contact, so he was the first to find out.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 really cry at all until the doctor told my mom,鈥� he says, and falls silent for a moment.
鈥淢y mom, her soul left her body. And she looked right at me. Her face is like, 鈥楢re you for real?鈥� And I鈥檓, like, 鈥業t鈥檚 true,鈥� 鈥� he remembers. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I think I broke down.鈥�
Wilmer Vasquez was 29 years old.
When climate change threatens your career, and your life
Yonatan says it鈥檚 obvious to him that climate change played a huge role in his brother鈥檚 death.
鈥淚 have to explain to people that my brother died: it was because of it being the hottest year on record,鈥� Yonatan says.
But he says a lot of his friends and family members still don鈥檛 understand how hot it really is, and how dangerous the heat can be.
鈥淚t鈥檚 only gonna get worse,鈥� Yonatan says. 鈥淧eople don鈥檛 understand how hot it is. Because when they work, it鈥檚 in the air conditioning. When they go to their car, it鈥檚 air conditioning. When they go to their house, their work, it鈥檚 air conditioning. They only feel [the heat] like 20 minutes out of the whole day. They don鈥檛 understand when you feel it for 10 to 12 hours a day, how much your body has to work.鈥�
Yonatan worries that the heat could claim his life as well. The summers are only getting hotter. And while heat-related worker protections are patchy at best across the U.S., earlier this year of prohibiting local governments in the state from passing laws that would require workers like Yonatan to be given rest breaks, water and access to shade on dangerously hot days.
Yonatan thinks a lot about getting out of the roofing business. Maybe he could work in IT, he says. In the meantime, he stopped drinking alcohol, and he is more careful about what he eats and drinks. He wears long-sleeves and a sun hat to protect himself from the sun while he鈥檚 working.
鈥淚f I don鈥檛 change a lot of stuff in my life I鈥檓 not gonna make it past 40,鈥� he says. 鈥淢y brother didn鈥檛 make it past 30. I don鈥檛 want my mom to bury another son.鈥�
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