Fire House Facts

Saturday, From Sunday, Dec. 7, Dec. the Yuma 1, through Fire Department emergency calls responded for service: to 350

• 14 General Fire Response Including: 1 for smoke from an a/c unit, 2 for gas smells in building, 1 cooking fire, 1 backyard fire, 1 illegal trash fire, and various alarms

• 1 Mutual Aid Including: 1 to assist Rural Metro with a medical emergency in the County

• 19 Motor Vehicle Crashes Including: 2 involving pedestrians, 1 involving a wall, 1 involving a motorcycle, and

• 4 involving 3 or more vehicles

• 284 Other Medical Emergencies (serious to minor)

Including: 27 for difficulty breathing, 23 for chest pain, 35 for falls, 28 for unconscious people, 11 seizure cases, 6 possible stroke cases, 1 for an intoxicated person, 8 for people under the influence of drugs, 2 drug overdose cases, 20 for people with psychiatric problems, 1 for dehydration, 2 for medical alarms, 2 for children locked in vehicles, 5 for choking, 21 for altered or decreased level of consciousness, 3 for fever, 4 for diabetic emergencies, 4 for man down calls, 1 for uncontrolled bleeding, 1 for burns from hot water, 2 for bad headaches, 2 for gunshot wounds, 2 for assaults, 5 for back pain, 12 for abdominal pain, 4 for deceased persons, 1 for a person run over by a forklift, 1 for a person with their hand stuck in some machinery, and other illnesses and injuries

• 32 Special Duty, Public Assistance, and Residential Assignments

Including: 2 for assisting YPD with bio-hazard clean up at scenes, 1 for a debris fire in a vacant lot, 9 for EMS or Fire standby, 1 for a vehicle fire, 1 for a power transformer fire, and various alarms.

*****

This time of year, Yuma’s weather is almost always much better than that being experienced in other parts of the country. That does not mean that temperatures can’t dip down low enough to make things uncomfortably cool, or even “cold”. When that happens, sometimes alternative heating sources are used. Improper use of heating equipment can have serious results. Space heaters accounted for two out of every five home heating fires.

Every year, tens of thousands of heating-related fires occur, causing hundreds of deaths. According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), from 2009 to 2013 there was an average of 56,000 home heating fires per year, and an average of 470 people lost their lives in those fires. Better designs and more attention to safety have been reducing the number of heating fires. Prior to 1990, heating-related fires were the leading cause of home fires. Since then it has been cooking-related fires. Here are some tips:

• Keep anything that can burn at least 3 feet away (5 feet or more from open flames) from heating equipment (furnace, wood stove, portable heater, fireplace, etc.).

• Only use heating equipment that has the label of a recognized testing laboratory. And follow manufacturer’s instructions.

• Make sure your space heater is a modern variety that will automatically shut off if it tips over!

• Never use your oven for heating.

• Turn portable heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.

• Make sure all fuel burning equipment is properly vented to the outside to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.

• Test smoke alarms at least monthly.

For more information about fire and injury prevention classes we offer, contact the Yuma Fire Department Public Information Office at 373-4855, you can also “Follow” us at www.twitter.com/YumaFireDept