With temperatures creeping towards 40C, Joe Moore, 91, and wife Mary, 89, were desperate to fix their airconditioning after it clapped out late last week.

During an extremely busy time of year for Mr Skourtis, a special order was made and a string or two pulled just to track down the needed parts.

Then he had to clamber on the roof of their home in Holder and set about his work in the sizzling sun.

"[Joe] is an elderly gentleman who has been a bit unwell lately," Mr Skourtis said.

"We had a lot of jobs on today, but this was the big one for us."

At the height of summer Mr Skourtis, from Capital Electrical and Gas, Heating and Cooling, said he might work six days a week and get through seven or eight installations a day.

"We've had busy times like this when there's a heatwave on and we've had to work weekends to keep up," he said.

Wearing work pants and a long-sleeve shirt to protect himself on the roof, he described the challenge of labouring in the heat.

"It's pretty hard," he said.

"Try sitting outside on the bonnet of your car for a few hours."

Mrs Moore said she and her husband were hugely appreciative Mr Skourtis made the time to see them on Friday afternoon.

"We are really delighted, of course," she said.

"It can be difficult trying to get someone out here to look at the unit at such short notice."

With temperatures expected to soar again on Saturday before dropping off Sunday, she and her husband no longer had to worry about keeping cool.

"We are absolutely relieved right now," she said.

"We couldn't be happier."

Relief was not quite so close at hand for Mr Skourtis, who had three more households sweating on his visit that afternoon.

"We just keep on going - running around trying to get all these jobs done," he said.