YFD recognizes its Employees of the Year
The Yuma Fire Department recognized its Employees of the Year and bestowed other annual awards during a ceremony Wednesday evening.
The awards were presented at City Hall during the Yuma City Council meeting, which included Mayor Douglas Nicholls reading a proclamation declaring Oct. 4 through Oct. 10 as Fire Prevention Week.
Fire Chief Steve Irr and Assistant Fire Chief Dusty Fields conducted the recognitions.
This year’s Fire Officer of the Year is Capt. Anthony Jacobo, whose attitude and approach to the job are said to be one of the very best within the Yuma Fire Department.
According to Jacobo’s letter of recommendation, “his crews reflect his attitude and share the same passion and energy for the job. His Fire Fighters trust in him, his Engineers enjoy working for him, and other Captains respect him.”
Firefighter Donald Walton, who fills many key roles within the YFD, was honored as this year’s Fire Engineer of the Year.
“Donald Walton exemplifies what all YFD personnel should strive to be in an employee: hardworking, engaged, and willing to go the extra mile,” his recommendation letter cited.
Walton has many key roles within the YFD and is credited for devoting a great deal of time and effort to each.
He is a certified Hazardous Materials Technician, an Emergency Vehicle Operator Course Instructor, a Self-contained Breathing Apparatus Technician, a member of the Department Strike Team, and an instructor for the YFD Fire Academy.
Watson also maintains a leadership role as Chairperson of the department’s Employee of the Quarter Committee, a member of the Honors Award Committee and cadre Fire Captain.
Firefighter of the Year went to Manuel Pelayo, who during the ongoing COVID19 pandemic was instrumental in making sure frontline personnel possessed necessary equipment to maintain a safe working environment.
“Manuel “Manny” Pelayo is competent, capable, and possesses a work ethic that should be emulated by his peers,” was included in his nomination letter.
For always being extremely accessible to the media and the public for any inquiries regarding information or education about the YFD, Mike Erfert was chosen as this year’s Support Person of the Year.
According to his nomination letter, “Mike teaches over 100 fire and/or life safety classes to the public every year, responds to hundreds of media contacts, puts out over 100 press releases annually, and maintains a social media presence that tracks a reach of three quarters of a million views annually, with over 100,000 engagements.”
In addition to being skilled in emergency management, Erfert has also secured alternative funding sources for Community Risk Reduction programs through grant writing and applications.
Erfert serves as chairman of many local committees and is active in many more. He has also taught nearly 500 compression-only CPR classes over the years to more than 12,000 residents.
Unit Citations were also presented to Yuma Engine 01, crewed by Capt. John Dunbar, Engineer John Anderson and Firefighter Levi Kester; Yuma Medic 01, crewed by firefighters Anthony Fernandez and Michael Lowrey; Engineer Aaron Wonders, Engineer Terry Smith and firefighter Trevor Smaltz of Yuma Engine 04.
Upon responding to a welfare check, the Yuma firefighters found a patient needing medical attention and transport to Yuma Regional Medical Center.
The location and the conditions of his surroundings made it difficult for firefighters to reach the patient.
Extraordinary efforts by all of the firefighters, in extreme weather conditions, was needed, but over the span of two hours they were able to get the patient extricated and provide the needed care.