Oppressive humidity and high temperatures ushered in the region’s third official heat wave this summer and left tri-town residents searching for relief last week.

According to the National Weather Service, temperatures topped 90 degrees for three consecutive days, which prompted “heat advisory” warnings that lasted until 7 p.m. on July 19 and 20. For many staying cool meant staying inside.

Sales of air conditioners are much higher this month than in past years said Grace Knox, president of DG Service Company, Inc. Based in Mattapoisett, the company specializes in refrigeration, air conditioning, and heating.

“It’s been a very unusual summer. We’ve experienced August in the beginning of July,” Knox said. While sales were up so were calls for repair. “Condensers and compressors in our customer’s air conditioners are breaking down. We’ve had hundreds of calls,” she said.

Normally, the company receives call volume that high in late summer. Knox said part of the problem is that temperatures became too hot, too soon.

“The air conditioners haven’t had time to get accustomed to the hot weather. It’s been very taxing on the equipment,” she said. To keep up with demand, Knox has hired additional help. Sales may be up as many people look ahead to even hotter temperatures.

“I think people who are buying now are looking at it from this perspective: If this is July, imagine what August will be like,” Knox said.

Some people had no choice but to battle the hot temperatures. Charles Duponte, owner and operator of Duponte Landscaping, said he took precautions to ensure the safety of his landscape crews as they worked outside.

“We try to minimize the heat stress the men are going to deal with in the course of the week by making sure they drink plenty of water and scheduling jobs that allow them to work in less than severe conditions. Meaning, we keep them out of the sun and in the shade when possible,” Duponte said. The Mattapoisett-based company also provided instructions on avoiding and treating heat-related illnesses, he said.

Even with those measures in place, Duponte said crews ended work at 3 p.m. on the hottest days, for safety.

Lifeguards didn’t have that option as many residents took to area beaches.

On July 19, Silvershell Beach in Marion was busy as temperatures hovered in the 90s in the afternoon. Beach Director Kyle Erha said in that weather it’s important to keep lifeguards rested and comfortable for swimmer’s safety.

“We rotate the lifeguards to get them out of the chair, and into the shade, to get them refreshed,” Erha said. “And then they go back out and deal with the heat, but their eyes are open and on the water.”

The places people didn’t flock to for a break might come as a surprise.

“It’s too hot for ice cream,” said Jim Carberry, owner of Robins Nest in Rochester. “It’s just too damn hot.” The Robins Nest sells ice cream and fare such as burgers and fried food. But in this weather no one was buying.

“Once it cools down people start to come in,” Carberry said. One night last week a couple arrived at 9:30 p.m. looking for dinner. “I hadn’t cooked a burger all day,” he said and added: “People come here because it’s too hot to cook at home.”

Carberry, who is also the Robins Nest cook, sought a break on Thursday, July 18 after a hot day behind the frialator. He wasn’t so lucky.

“I jumped in the pool last night around ten o’clock and the water was actually hot,” Carberry said. “I was hoping to cool off, not take a bath.”