During Wednesday night’s City Council meeting, it was announced that Fire Marshal Kayla Franklin had completed the Executive Fire Officer (EFO) Program of the National Fire Academy. Kayla is one of only 2 currently serving YFD members who have completed the program. Fire Chief Dusty Fields is the other member from YFD.  

"The Executive Fire Officer (EFO) Program provides a unique residential professional development opportunity for senior-level fire and emergency medical services leaders. During the EFO Program, participants gain leadership skills they can use to strengthen their organization and help make their community more resilient. Participants in EFO Program represent a diverse group of federal, state, local, territorial, tribal, and private sector fire and EMS leaders, from career and volunteer organizations, who become enhanced decision-makers and innovative collaborators. Acceptance into the internationally recognized EFO Program is through a competitive selection process. During the multi-year program, participants gain knowledge from experienced instructors and nationally recognized experts. They also learn from each other by discussing relevant issues and complex problems while exploring frameworks and strategies to enhance their own leadership skills, their organization's mission and needs, and their community's expectations. A core component of EFO is the cross-jurisdictional and organizational collaboration that results from having a diverse group of senior-level leaders in the program from around the nation and around the globe." Eriks Gabliks, Superintendent, National Fire Academy

As part of the program, Kayla wrote a capstone research paper focused on integrating fire suppression staff into the community risk reduction division. Her analysis and strategy provide the Yuma Fire Department with the opportunity to cross-train more frontline firefighters in community risk expertise, enhancing our ability to handle complex issues in the field.

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