1 person injured in garage fire on 9th Ave.

One person was treated at the scene of a garage fire on Thursday and transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center with unknown injuries.

Yuma Fire Department spokesperson Mike Erfert said that a fire was reported at about 1:40 p.m. in the area of 9th Avenue and 6th Street.

While en route, firefighters saw a heavy column of black smoke coming from the area and arrived to find heavy smoke and flames coming from a garage structure in the rear of a home in the 500 block of South 9th Avenue.

Erfert also said that live power lines down in the alley, and traffic congestion at the fire scene hampered the initial fire response.

The fire, he added, was mostly able to be contained to the garage, which was heavily damaged. Additionally, 6th Street was closed to traffic between 8th and 10th Avenue and 9th Avenue was closed in the 500 and 600 blocks by the Yuma Police Department.

The Marine Corps Air Station Structural Fire Department also responded and provided mutual assistance.

Firefighters were expected to be working on hot spots and flare-ups for several hours, during which time the area was to remain closed.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

According to the YFD, it is important for people to remember that first responders need clear access to the scene of a fire. As such, firefighters are asking that people stay clear of the immediate area and not rush to the scene of an incident like this, which delays emergency responses and possibly puts themselves and first responders in danger.

A person’s presence on the fire scene has to take a back seat to the arrival of the people whose job it is to respond to the emergency, YFD said.

Buy these photos at YumaSun.com PHOTO BY RANDY HOEFT/ YUMA SUN THICK BLACK SMOKE AND FLAMES RISE FROM A STRUCTURE FIRE in the backyard of a home at 577 S. 9th Avenue early Thursday afternoon. Yuma Fire Department and Yuma Police Department responded to the fire which resulted in the closure of traffic on 9th Avenue and 5th Street and 6th Street.

ABOVE: YFD emergency personnel transport a man from the scene of the fire early Thursday afternoon as flames rise in the backyard of the home. LEFT: Yuma Police Department and YFD personnel, seen here in the alley between 8th Avenue and 9th Avenue, between 5th Street and 6th Street, work the scene of the fire.