From employees to the elderly, how Coloradans are beating the record-tying heat

With temperatures soaring, Denver7 is looking out for you and your family by finding ways to beat the heat.

Data shows roughly one in three Denver families do not have cooling systems in their homes. The City of Denver is working with several nonprofits to

Businesses that involve being outdoors are also working to keep their employees safe.

When Denver7 crews arrived at Petrocco Farms in Brighton on Wednesday, no one was out in the field. On days where extreme heat is predicted, employees start their days earlier — around 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. — so they are out of the heat before the worst of it arrives at noon.

Joseph Petrocco said his company is proactive and looks out for extreme heat days like today. The farm also partnered with Colorado State University several years ago for a heat study to better understand heat-related illnesses among farmworkers.
                
“We've seen such good feedback, not only in our bottom line, but our workers appreciate it so much more," said Petrocco. "We're actually working together to try to find good solutions to combat this hot weather we're having to deal with. It gets hotter and hotter every summer. So if we can work together as a team and be on the same page, we really can do a lot better as a whole."

Employees typically wear loose-fitting long-sleeved cotton garments to avoid the sun. They also take lots of breaks in the shade.

Petrocco Farms encourages smaller, more frequent drinks of water rather than drinking a lot at once, which can lead to dehydration.

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Denver7’s Adria Iraheta shares stories that have an impact in all of Colorado’s communities, but specializes in reporting on education and stories in Arapahoe County. If you’d like to get in touch with Adria, fill out the form below to send her an email.

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