Portacool production resumes - It’s not just about the milestones we achieve but the journey we take to get there. Today, as I stand here looking at this Portacool unit, it’s not just a piece of machinery. It’s a symbol of hope, resilience, and the indomitable spirit of our team…
September may inspire ideas of fall – Pumpkin Spice lattes, orange leaves, and, of course, football season. There’s nothing quite like sitting in the stands, cheering on your favorite team under Friday night lights! But, in many places across the U.S., September doesn’t always bring cooler weather. In fact, in some areas, temperatures can stay very high. For the supporters in the stands, this might mean just more sweat, but for the players, heat can create very dangerous circumstances. Coaches and team managers must remain vigilant to ensure their players are prepared and protected, on and off the field.
Teams put so much effort into ensuring their players are at peak performance levels. They promote a regimented practice schedule to ensure each player’s specialty and general skills are top-notch and that they stay in physical shape. Many players, particularly at college levels or above, offer nutritional support. They also provide recovery techniques for players who have been injured and are anxious to get back on the field. It’s crucial, then, not to let those efforts go to waste by ignoring the heat and its potentially life-threatening side effects.
Proactive Heat Protection
Coaches should take every step to protect athletes in the heat. To proactively prevent heat-related illnesses, there are several strategies that can protect players:
Recognizing and Treating Heat-Related Illnesses
Coaches must also know how to recognize heat-related illnesses. To accomplish this, the NFL offers a simple, 3-step approach: Identify, Assess, Treat. First, remain aware of changes in player behavior, including disorientation, staggering, and profuse sweating, to identify a potential heat-related illness.
If a player starts to show these symptoms, remove them from the game and begin assessment: take the player’s temperature and monitor for additional indicators. Severe symptoms in the evaluation can include irritability, collapse, and altered consciousness, which may be indicative of heatstroke. If a player is exhibiting these symptoms, begin treatment immediately.
Do not transport the player. “Cool first, transport second,” is the most effective approach, according to the NFL and its collaborating doctor, Dr. Douglas J. Casa, Ph.D. It is crucial to get the body’s temperature to 102 degrees or lower within 30 minutes. This can be done with cool towels, hydration, and ice baths as appropriate. Only once the body has cooled should the player be transported for follow-up examinations and care.
Heat-Related Safety Equipment: Evaporative Coolers
One tool that teams can use for both preventative measures and active treatment of heat-related illnesses is a portable evaporative cooler, such as Portacool. Portacool’s evaporative coolers use evaporative media technology to create cool air – even outside – without using too much energy. By creating a cooling zone with a Portacool cooler, coaches and team managers can provide an area for players to cool off throughout practices and games. With the proper use, these coolers can be an important piece of safety equipment that not only helps players recover from the effects of heat but also proactively prevent the worst side effects from happening in the first place.
For more information on Portacool evaporative cooler options to help football players stay cool in the heat, visit our product page.
The Portacool 510 is the newest addition to our product line. As the smallest and lightest Portacool evaporative cooler, it provides the ease and versatility you need to maintain a comfortable environment in small spaces.
Enjoy the cooling benefits of the 510 in a wide range of applications. It’s excellent for home workshops and backyard patios. Keep your small business workspace, retail shop, or gym cool on hot days. You can also bring the 510 along on RV trips and when you’re tailgating before a sports event on a hot day.
The Portacool Cyclone™ series provides powerful cooling in spaces where air conditioning simply isn’t a viable solution. These compact, lightweight evaporative coolers come on wheels, making them easy to move around your space to achieve cooling benefits in the precise area you need them.
With four distinct coolers in the Cyclone line, you’re guaranteed to find an option that meets your specific needs. The Cyclone is perfect for outdoor patios, home workshops, small businesses, retail shops, events venues, and gyms.
Larger work environments need a powerful cooling solution to maintain workers’ health, safety, and productivity when the temperatures get hot. The Portacool Jetstream™ series provides the cooling you need to avoid a work stoppage due to excessive heat.
The Jetstream is the evaporative cooler of choice in factories and industrial settings. It’s also an ideal solution for your auto garage, aviation hangar, farm, prison, or large events venue. With six models in the Jetstream line, you can customize your cooling to ensure optimal results for your unique space.
Effective cooling is vital in any work environment, but it’s especially crucial when combustible gases are present. These situations create unique challenges when trying to keep the environment cool. Fortunately, Portacool’s Hazardous Location series is specifically designed to meet the needs of petrochemical refineries, oil and gas exploration outfits, chemical production plants, fuel depots, and any other location where combustibles are a concern.
Our Hazardous Location evaporative coolers are ETL Certified for use in Class I, Division 2, Groups C&D hazardous locations. All electrical components are sealed to provide an additional layer of safety.
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