• YFD presents Excellence in Service Awards,
The Yuma Fire Department also presented some of its firefighters and emergency service personnel with Excellence in Service Awards during Tuesday evening’s ceremony, handing out a Unit Citation, a Medal of Merit and an Award of Service.
The Unit Citation was given to Mike Walton, William Unterseh, Tom Linville, Erik Lohman, Jordan Simpson, Jason Holiman, Frank Reed, Nicholas Rico, Justin Zahn, Shayne Burney, Robert Smith, Brent Young, Jeff Bird, Alex Urzua, Levi Kester, Brian Friar, Edward Harris, John Anderson, Michael Worwood, Casandra Carranza, Laura Zavala, and Gabrielle Trevino.
All were involved in some capacity in assisting the driver of the vehicle who was impaled by a pole that penetrated his vehicle following a traffic accident on Sept. 17, pinning him in the vehicle.
The crash happened at approximately 7:10 a.m. While en route to the scene, firefighters received additional information from Yuma police officers that the driver was injured and trapped in the vehicle.
Once on scene firefighters found a passenger car on the north side of the road in a construction area. A 4-inch steel pipe had pierced the entire vehicle from driver’s door through to the passenger compartment and out the rear passenger door, making it impossible for him to move.
The three engine companies, one ladder company, and the medic unit worked for approximately 45 minutes and were able to cut the pipe and stabilize the patient. The pipe was cut off on both sides of the driver, who was then able to be removed from the vehicle and placed on a gurney.
The 27-year-old driver, who was conscious and able to communicate with rescue workers, was then transported with the embedded section of pipe to a waiting helicopter and flown to a trauma center in the Phoenix area.
“All of the crews worked calmly, professionally, and kept clear communications with all the team members,” according to their commendation. “Dispatch was instrumental in keeping the scene running smoothly with excellent communications during the incident. The actions by all of the individuals on this day is being recognized for a unit citation award.”
Battalion Chief Jeff Zahn was bestowed with a Medal of Merit for coordinating the arrival of mutual aid from other Yuma-area fire departments during an early morning fire in January at the construction site of a housing development, and effectively directing firefighters from those agencies to numerous other fires that were caused in the surrounding neighborhoods due to windy conditions.
The fire broke out shortly after 3:30 a.m. on Jan. 29 at the Mesa Heights housing development. Upon arrival to the scene, firefighters found a fully involved section of the construction site with multiple nearby houses in immediate danger of damage or destruction. Fueled by gusting winds and blowing embers, this incident became significantly hazardous and evolved extremely quickly.
According to his nomination, “Chief Zahn called for mutual aid from surrounding agencies and effectively incorporated their support into the command structure. Furthermore, he delegated important tasks while actively maintaining effective accountability of all crews engaged in suppression efforts over a large geographic area. All the while, he ensured the safety of the public and fire crews operating on the scene.”
Firefighter Aldo Milan received an Award of Service for putting out a fire while off-duty on Sept. 14.
At around 1 p.m. that day, Millan saw smoke and flames coming from the backyard of someone’s home in the Barkley Ranch neighborhood. After making sure no one was inside, he pulled a garden hose to the rear of the home and began putting out the fire. By the time firefighters got on scene, the fire had already been extinguished.
Written in Millan’s recommendation was, “While the back patio was heavily damaged, Aldo’s actions minimized property loss and prevented anyone from being injured in the fire.”
James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854. Find him on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ YSJamesGilbert or on Twitter @YSJamesGilbert.