City of Yuma Fire, Police, Parks Calls for Service & Incidents
Date:
08/28/2009 (Last updated: 08/30/2009)Summary:
Employees of the City of Yuma Police Department, Fire Department and Parks & Recreation Department responded to the following calls for service and reports of vandalism and graffiti this week.Contact:
Yuma, Arizona - Employees of the City of Yuma Police Department, Fire Department and Parks & Recreation Department responded to the following calls for service and reports of vandalism and graffiti this week.
Yuma Fire Department
For the week of August 16th through August 22nd, Yuma Fire Department responded to 192 Emergency Calls for Service, which included:
- 9 Commercial Assignments, including - an unattended cooking fire in an apartment where a smoke alarm alerted the occupant to the fire, a call for burned popcorn in the microwave, and various false alarms
- 16 Motor Vehicle Crashes, including one where a driver was struck by their own vehicle, and one involving four vehicles
- 138 Other Medical Emergencies (serious to minor) - 22 for difficulty breathing, 13 for chest pain, 20 fall victims, 11 unconscious people, 4 seizure cases, 1 diabetic emergency, 3 possible stroke cases, 8 suicidal patients, 1 allergic reaction, 1 call for a child locked inside of a vehicle, 1 for a heat related emergency, 1 water rescue, and misc. other illnesses and injuries
- 13 Special Duty, Public Assistance, and Residential Assignments for a kitten rescued from a tree, a fire in a backyard that started when the homeowner was burning trash inside of a barbecue grill, an air conditioner that iced over and started smoking, a smoke alarm that sounded due to cooking, a vehicle fire, an electrical pole down, approximately 5 gallons of spilled gasoline at a gas station, a barbecue grill on fire due to a leaking fuel tank, a small gas line that was broken, and various alarms
From January 1, 2009 through August 22, 2009, the Yuma Fire Department has responded to:
- 234 Commercial Assignments, Including -13 fires in businesses, 10 fires in apartments, and various alarms
- 20 Hazardous Material Responses
- 12 Mutual Aid Assignments
- 697 Motor Vehicle Crashes
- 5433 Medical Emergencies (serious to minor), Including - 791 for difficulty breathing, 498 for chest pain, 698 fall victims, 497 unconscious people, 180 seizure cases, 170 diabetic emergencies, 122 possible stroke cases, 99 overdoses, 115 suicidal patients, 47 allergic reactions, 50 calls for a child locked inside of a vehicle, and misc. other illnesses and injuries
- 767 Special Duty, Public Assistance, and Residential Assignments, including - 36 fires in private residences, 60 dumpster fires, 17 grass or brush fires, 15 fires outside of a structure, 45 vehicle fires, and various alarms
Two of our primary causes of residential fires continue to be unattended cooking and children playing with fire.
Always stay in the kitchen when frying, grilling, or broiling food. If you must leave the kitchen, for even a short time, turn off the stove. Be mindful of unexpected distractions (phone calls, visitors, etc.) that take your attention away from your cooking.
Parents need to be aware of the dangers, keep matches and lighters locked up, and talk about fire safety with their children. There is no reason for children to have matches or lighters in their possession. Curiosity about fire is normal, so it is all that much more important to teach your children fire is a serious thing, and not a toy.
Yuma Police Department
For the week of August 10th through August 16th, Yuma Police Department responded to an average of 143 calls for service per day. During this week YPD:
- Responded to 998 calls for service
- Documented 207 police reports
- Responded to 37 non-injury accidents
- Responded to 17 injury accidents
Significant incidents and community events include:
- On August 10th, a non-injury accident occurred when a semi truck & trailer got caught on some electrical lines near Gila Vista Jr High. It resulted in a major power outage in the area
- On August 14th, Detectives arrested an adult female and former teacher aide for sexual conduct with a minor
- On August 15th, a healthcare reform forum was held at the Pivot Point. It was well attended and without any serious disruptions
- On August 16th, an adult male was arrested for burglarizing Rancho Viejo School, 1020 Avenue C
The Drive Safe Location was First Avenue and our targeted intersection was 16th Street @ Avenue B.
From January 1st to August 9th, the Yuma Police Department has:
- Responded to 40,787 calls for service
- Documented 8,816 police reports
- Responded to 1,550 noninjury accidents
- Responded to 626 injury accidents
- Responded to 3,198 alarm calls resulting in 13 police reports
Last Fiscal Year (July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009), the Yuma Police Department:
- Received 27,832 9-1-1 calls
- Received 109,450 incoming calls in the Public Safety Communications office
- Issued 4,010 Traffic Citations
- Made 748 Juvenile Arrests
- Made 2,113 Adult Arrests
Parks and Recreation Department
For the week of August 12th through August 18th, City of Yuma Parks and Recreation Department:
- Responded and cleaned up 50 incidents of graffiti
- 81 rounds of 9 hole golf were played at Desert Hills and Arroyo Dunes Golf Courses
- 448 rounds of 18 hole golf were played at Desert Hills and Arroyo Dunes Golf Courses
- The Putter Inn served 358 meals
- 25 events were held at the Yuma Civic Center with an attendance of 2,443 people attending those events
- A total of 124 games were played at City of Yuma Athletic Facilities
- The Yuma Art Center is currently closed for change-over between scheduled shows
- 95 ramadas, parks and fields were rented for special events
- 11 programs were offered through the City's recreation program, with 1,293 members of the Yuma community participating in those programs
Since July 1, 2009:
- 444 incidents of graffiti have been addressed and cleaned up
- 625 rounds of 9 hole golf have been played at Desert Hills and Arroyo Dunes Golf Courses
- 4,017 rounds of 18 hole golf have been played at Desert Hills and Arroyo Dunes Golf Courses
- The Putter Inn has served 2,966 meals
- 253 events have been held at the Yuma Civic Center with an attendance of 16,677
- A total of 1,174 games were played at City of Yuma Athletic Facilities
- The Yuma Art Center hosted 18 events with a total attendance of 2,715
- 602 ramadas, parks and fields were rented by Yuma area residents
- 257 programs were offered with 66,166 people attended those 257 programs offered.
Vandalism Continues to be a Problem
Vandalism continues to be a problem in our parks and playgrounds. - the men's restroom at Carver Park's was vandalized on August 19th. The stainless steel sink was ripped off the wall and destroyed at an estimated cost of $350.00 for materials. During the Jesus Jam Concert, one of the walkway lights was broken at the Civic Center. The City's theory is that one of the youth attending the concert was hanging from the pole causing undue stress and breaking the light. The West Wetlands Park was vandalized again, two large Agave Cacti were kicked in and subsequently had to be removed. The cost of these destroyed plants is approximately $200. The cost to repair the light fixture is $450.00.
There were 50 cases of graffiti cleaned up during the week of August 12 through August 18, 2009. Parks and Recreation crews are cleaning up an average of 56 cases of graffiti per week for the Fiscal Year starting July 1st.
Vandalism and graffiti clean-up costs the Yuma taxpayers over $200,000 each year. Please help us reduce vandalism by reporting incidences of crime to 78-Crime and Graffiti to the hot-line of 329-2828. If you witness a crime in progress, call 9-1-1.
For More Information
For further information, please contact Greg Hyland, CPM, the City of Yuma's Director of Communications & Public Affairs at (928) 373-5023 or by e-mail or Dave Nash, City of Yuma Public Affairs Coordinator at (928) 373-5015 or by e-mail.
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Media Contacts
Members of the media may contact Director of Communications and Public Affairs Greg Hyland, CPM at (928) 373-5023 or (928) 580-4751, or Public Affairs Coordinator Dave Nash at (928) 373-5015, or (928) 941-0199.
