YFD’s new ride
All-terrain rescue vehicle donated to fire department
The Yuma Fire Department now has another utility terrain vehicle (UTV), thanks to a customer-funded public safety grant, and had it on display to the public Tuesday morning during a special recognition ceremony that was held in the parking lot of the 4th Avenue Firehouse Subs restaurant.
“It is an off-road vehicle, and what it is allowing us to do is provide service to the community in those remote, harder to reach, recreational areas that our fire trucks and ambulances can’t get into,” said Yuma Fire Chief Steve Irr. “This is a piece of equipment that typically isn’t in our bud-
get, and probably not otherwise able (for us) to afford.”
Irr said that the new UTV, which was purchased with a $20,164.00 grant, will be housed downtown at Fire Station #1 and used along the riverfront and at crowded community events, such as the ones held on Main Street.
“We have a lot of incidents (along the Colorado River) during the summer, but as the city grows that recreation area, there is going to be more activity down there, even during the winter months, and in areas we can’t easily get to,” Irr said.
Chris Miller, who coowns the Firehouse Subs franchise with his sister Lisa Meyer, explained that donations from customers go toward buying necessary equipment for first-responders and public safety organizations through the company’s Public Safety Foundation.
Miller said this is the second time the Yuma Fire Department has been awarded a grant from the foundation, and the department has received more than $40,000 in donations.
The co-owners of Firehouse Subs, who themselves are retired firefighters, created the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation in 2005 to help provide equipment and training to emergency personnel,
Through the non-profit 501(c)(3), the Foundation has given more than $24 million to public safety agencies in 46 states and Puerto Rico and Canada, including more than $796,000 in Arizona.
The ceremony, Miller said, was important because it allowed the community to see the rescue vehicle first-hand, and know where the money they are donating is going.
“It shows that when we are asking our customers for a round-up, that we aren’t trying to shag them for money,” Miller said. “They know the money they are giving is really going back to the community.”
One of the ways Firehouse Subs collects donations for its Public Safety Foundation is through a method known as a roundup, in which customers are asked if they would like to round-up their purchase to the nearest dollar and donate that difference. Other donation methods include a collection jar for cash and change.
The UTV purchased is a 2016 Polaris Ranger that has been specially modified by Yuma Fire Department personnel to safely transport paramedics and equipment to hard-to-reach scenes quickly and safely and bring patients out to traditional ambulance transport.
The grant not only covered the cost of the UTV, but most of the materials used in the modifications as well.
Irr added that the fire department is grateful to Firehouse Subs for the donation. Several city officials and a representative from the Public Safety Fund also attended the ceremony.