The Yuma Fire Department shares how they protect firefighters from the heat
Eduardo Morales
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – With possible record breaking temperatures Wednesday, and Thursday, the Yuma Fire Department shares how they keep their crews safe.
“It’s not secret that Yuma is one of the hottest places on Earth so the Yuma Fire Department’s had to be creative,” said fire Captain David Padilla.
In order to better ensure the firefighters’ safety YFD has set up a rehabilitation vehicle.
The vehicle comes equipped with swamp coolers and additional water.
They will also have a rehab division which is a crew assigned to monitor the firefighters.
“Our crews are getting rehabilitated getting plenty of fluids, whether that’s through you know our sports drinks like electrolytes, or taking supplements that way, we monitor their vital signs, once they’re cleared for the incident they go back to their stations,” says Capt. Padilla.
Capt. Padilla describes how it feels to be out battling fire in triple-digit temperatures.
“It’s rough and so days like today where we’re hitting 115, 116, we have to be cognizant of it, we limit our training during the day, and we try to limit how much our members are outside,” he said.
Capt. Padilla also shares how they train and prepare throughout these hot summer days.
“Our dispatchers are monitoring the different flag levels, we have green, red, and black, if it’s a red flag day we’re limiting out door activity, if it’s a black flag day then we’re doing zero outdoor activity aside from running 9-1-1 calls,” he says.
However, just because it’s a black flag day does not mean they stop preparing.
“We reduce our training we keep our guys indoors, they do indoor training whether that’s on a computer, but we limit how much they’re outside, we want them to be as close to 100% if we get a working incident,” said Capt. Padilla.
After a fire, if anyone is feeling sick, they get checked out and bring in replacements to work in their shift.