Business booming for El Paso air conditioning firms during extreme heat wave

EL PASO, Texas -- It's been more than a week of daily triple-digit temperatures in the Borderland, and while many are lucky to work inside an air-conditioned building -- others aren't.

Despite the extreme heat, many still have a job to do and for HVAC companies, they have air conditioners to repair.

"I mean everybody down to the last guy, everybody is busy, our technicians are working double time," said Luis Hernandez, a project manager at Total Air.

Workers have been busy swapping out swamp coolers with refrigerated air.

Hernandez said he's noticed more and people are making the switch because swamp coolers don't work as well as they should be during the extreme heat.

"Now they’re done and they just want to move and on and get their refrigerated air, and that’s the way El Paso is going pretty soon - no one is going to have swamp coolers," said Hernandez.

Most, if not all, of their work is done during the day when temperatures are at their highest.

Hernandez told ABC-7 that the technicians take breaks every half hour, "drink a lot of water, stay hydrated. If we can, we try to cover up and just work through."

Even as temperatures pass 100 degrees, the temperatures on roof tops is closer to 200 degrees.

So to stay safe, workers wear steel-toed boots, knee pads and long sleeve shirts.

"These guys, the get used to it, they’re tough," said Hernandez.