YPG fire chief lauds his people, seeks improvements
All Americans treasure their first responders, most often thinking of city firemen or local government law enforcement personnel. Yuma Proving Ground has its own first responders, however, who also deserve credit. Today we take a look at YPG’s Fire Department.
Gerald Ball remembers the events of 9/11 as if they took place yesterday.
He was on duty at YPG Fire Station 2 as a fire captain and received a phone call from an assistant chief telling him to quickly turn on the television. He clicked it on in time to watch a giant passenger aircraft impact the second of the World Trade Center towers amid fire and flame. Mesmerized and terrified at the same time, the vivid memory remains alive in his resoluteness today in maintaining the preparedness of YPG’s Fire Department.
YPG boasts a total of 40 firefighters and paramedics who perform duties both on the installation and throughout a large geographic area off the proving ground. This includes responding to vehicle accidents on Highway 95 as far south as mile marker 35 and north to mile marker 95, as well as communities at Senator Wash, Hidden Shores, Martinez Lake, Fisher’s Landing, Bard, and Imperial Irrigation District housing.
Members of the department have assisted in putting out fires in downtown Yuma, and travel to the Foothills and Winterhaven when requested. Firefighters have dealt with all kinds of fires, from structural, to chemical, to vehicle, to wildfires in natural terrain.
A huge part of the fire department’s workload isn’t putting out fires at all, however. It is in emergency medical response. Ball estimates that over 90 percent of the daily calls have to do with medical emergencies, though it varies by the time of year. The department is the sole provider of ambulance services to the installation and acts as first responder for emergency medical incidents in the surrounding area. For the past six years, these medical services have been provided at the advanced life support level, which greatly improves pre-hospital care.
“YPG is fortunate to have one of the best fire departments around,” said Ball, “made up of people who work hard and love their mission. The morale is high. They’re proud to be first responders who contribute to the readiness of YPG and the overall Army.”
Describing himself, Ball said he grew up in Yuma and developed an interest in becoming a firefighter at a young age. When the opportunity came in 1989 to become a firefighter at YPG, he jumped at it.
“I’ve had opportunities to move elsewhere over the years, but I grew to like it here, as well as the mission of the overall proving ground,” he explained. “Yuma is a good place to live and I still see no reason to change that.”
The work schedule for people in the fire department is different than other YPG employees, since their services take place around the clock, seven days per week. Each person is on duty for a minimum 144 hours each pay period, working 48 hours straight followed by two days at home. The schedule calls for at least two hours of formal training each day, with lots of equipment maintenance.
“Hoses cannot sit aboard our trucks for any length of time without being checked and exercised,” Ball said, “and the trucks themselves require a tremendous amount of preventive maintenance. This includes the engines and surfaces, but also all the equipment stored on each. The people on each shift are busy every day.”
One of the things Ball points to with pride is that there is that little personnel turnover has taken place in the fire department over the last 10 to 12 years. He says this is because more hiring takes place on a local basis than ever before and workers are trained in-house.
“Hiring people with roots in the Yuma community means we retain good employees,” he said with satisfaction in his voice.
The quality and high morale of YPG’s firefighters and paramedics can be seen by their voluntary participation in outside competitions. The proving ground had one of its firefighters compete in the recent Fire and Police Olympic Games in Los Angeles, John Lidington, who ran, swam and bicycled in the triathlon. He finished among the top 10 – an outstanding achievement, considering this was his first time competing in a triathlon. Hundreds of people from fire departments throughout the world participated in the games.
Three firefighters, Daniel DeCarlo, Joseph Rochester and Alexander McNeely, traveled to San Diego on their own time in early September to take part in the city’s annual 9/11 stair climb, which attracted hundreds of participants. Firefighters don all their emergency gear and breathing apparatus, just like the New York City firefighters did on 9/11 when responding to the World Trade Center disaster, then climb the same number of stairs those firefighters did — before having to retreat or face death.
“It takes place to raise money for charity,” said Ball, “and I think it’s a great remembrance. I hope to do it myself sometime.”
Note: 2018 is U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground’s 75th anniversary as a military installation. The highlight of next year’s festivities is a gala YPG open house on Feb. 3. There will be parachuting, bands, military equipment of many types on display, food, and much more. Admission is free. Mark the date on your calendar now!
Chuck Wullenjohn is the public affairs officer for the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground. He can be reached at charles.c.wullenjohn.civ@mail.mil.