Fire House Facts
Date:
01/28/2010 (Last updated: 01/29/2010)Summary:
Sunday January 17, 2010 through Saturday January 23, 2010Contact:
The Yuma Fire Department responded to 258 emergency calls for services
- 10 Commercial Assignments
Including: a stove fire due to unattended cooking in an apartment, a report of an air conditioning unit on fire, and various alarms - 1 Hazardous Materials Assignment
Including: An unknown substance leaking from pipes in the basement at the San Carlos Hotel which was later identified as a fuel oil - 19 Motor Vehicle Crashes
Including: 2 involving a pedestrian, 1 roll over, 1 involving a trailer, 1 involving a motorcycle, 1 involving a building, and 1 involving a wall - 188 Other Medical Emergencies (serious to minor)
Including: 11 for difficulty breathing, 18 for chest pain, 29 fall victims, 6 unconscious people, 6 seizure cases, 6 diabetic emergencies, 16 subjects with mental problems, 3 stroke cases, 1 possible overdose, and misc. other illnesses and injuries - 40 Special Duty, Public Assistance, and Residential Assignments
Including: Assisted several citizens with special needs during a storm, a jacuzzi smoking, 4 calls for a burning or smoke smell inside of a residence, 10 calls regarding power poles/lines either down or on fire, 2 calls for trees down, a dumpster fire, and various alarms
Last week the Yuma Fire Department responded to 4 calls for a burning or smoke smell inside of a residence. It was found that 3 of these homes did not have properly working smoke alarms. There was also a call for a smoke alarm sounding in an apartment complex that alerted a neighbor to an unattended cooking fire.
Every year more than 3000 people die in fires in the United States. It is estimated that half of those that died may have lived, if there had been a working smoke alarm in the home. Most homes these days are equipped with smoke alarms, but due to poor maintenance (often batteries are found to be dead or disconnected) many of these alarms fail to work properly when a fire occurs.
Batteries should be replaced at least once a year and alarms should be tested monthly. Combine these tests with doing home fire drills (your kids do them at school and they are just as important at home!) and your children will be more likely to recognize the sound of the alarm and take the proper action in a real emergency.
It is recommended to do your annual battery replacement in connection with some annual event. In many parts of the country that is when they change clocks back to standard time in the fall. There are even long life 10 year lithium batteries now available to install in smoke alarms. It is also recommended to replace smoke alarms every 10 years.
Smoke alarms save lives, and they are some of the cheapest insurance you can buy, but they will do no good if they are not working properly.
For More Information
For more information about fire safety and injury prevention, contact the Yuma Fire Department Public Information Office at 373-4855
Follow the Yuma Fire Department on Twitter
Follow the Yuma Fire Department on Twitter. The address is www.twitter.com/YumaFireDept. (This link will take you to an external website that is not part of the City of Yuma official website.)
