BATON ROUGE - With temperatures across the capital region topping 100 degrees, firefighters are taking extra steps to stay cool.

At the Baton Rouge Fire Department, safety officer Trent Rogillio says crews are working on a rotated schedule when they go to battle a blaze. Extra manpower is stationed at the scene so that firefighters can rotate in 13-minute shifts to prevent heat exhaustion. 

"We always say firemen are a different breed so they don't ever want to take breaks so the main thing is to put them on a time where we have chiefs at every fire and those chiefs monitor the time," Rogillio said.

A firefighter's gear can weigh up to 70 lbs., making it easy to overheat. Hydration trucks full of water and electrolyte drinks also help to keep their body temperatures down during the summer months. 

Rogillio says it can take anywhere from 15 minutes to one hour to extinguish an average fire. Depending on the severity of the scene they are working on, they will have firefighters tag team with each other to extinguish the fire.

According to BRFD, they have not seen an increase in fires related to the hot weather.