Parkas in August necessary for Regina's coldest job

Even when the temperature hits above 30 C in Regina, Ruslan Garipov and his co-workers wear parkas, ski masks and long underwear at work.

They work at JJL Storage and Logistics in Regina which stores frozen food in a warehouse on Winnipeg Street.

“It’s definitely the coldest job,” Garipov laughs.

The average temperature in the main warehouse and the giant freezers averages around -10 F or -23 C.
 
Working in a freezer sounds like a perk during the sweltering hot days of summer, but Garipov admits there is a trade-off.

“We just have to switch our clothes a lot. You go outside, it’s really warm and you get sweaty, then you come back inside,” he said.
 
He says sometimes he forgets to take off the extra layers when he leaves the building.

“If I go to 7-Eleven and I forget to take it off people make jokes like ‘Oh this drink must be very cold for you,’ but yeah people make fun of it. They find it odd,” Garipov laughs.

It might not be the coldest job in a freezer, but Don Copeland says he has one of the coolest jobs and most of his friends are jealous.

“They all say they want my job, especially this time of year, especially being a zamboni driver,” Copeland laughed.

He maintains the ice for the Cooperators Centre hockey rinks at Evraz Place. Even on a hot August morning, the rinks are full of hockey players.
“Eight hours of nice coolness, all the way around it’s cool,” Copeland said.

But he admits it can be a shock to the system when he goes outside after spending the day wearing coveralls and a sweater. He says he would not trade this job, but it’s not the first job he had where he kept cool through the summer.

“I used to cut meat for a living and I was always in the coolers then, that was cool too,” he said.

In a heat wave like this one who wouldn’t want to make ice for a living?
 
With this week of extremely hot weather, we’re running down a list of the hottest and coldest jobs in Regina.
 
Do you work as a roofer? Or do you drive a Zamboni at one of the year-round hockey rinks? Tweet to @CJMENews or tell us on Facebook to tell us about your hottest or coldest job in the summer.

AChristianson@rawlco.com
Follow on Twitter: @AdrianaC_JME