Fiery parade entry keeps a promise

Among the many entries in this year's Dorothy Young Memorial Electric Light Parade will be a fire engine all decked out with lights from the Somerton/Cocopah Fire Department.

SCFD spokesman Robby Rodriguez said participating in Friday's parade will be keeping a promise the firefighters made to Dorothy Young before she passed away earlier this year.

"A promise is a promise. She never really forgot about the firefighters so we will never forget about her," Rodriguez said. "We are doing this in remembrance of a friend who always got us involved. It is something we are committed to doing every year."

Young, who served as downtown events planner for Heritage Festivals for seven years, died unexpectedly in November of complications from lung cancer.

Rodriguez explained that whenever Young had a community event going on, she contacted them about getting involved.

Young helped the United Yuma Firefighters Association in preparing some of its fire musters in downtown Yuma.

He went on to say Young brought up the idea about having a fire engine all decked out with lights in the parade one day while they were talking in her Yuma office.

"I told her I thought it was a great idea," Rodriguez said. "In the back of my mind, I was thinking how the heck am I going to get that done?"

As the weeks passed, Rodriguez said, he would get periodic phone calls from Young reminding him that the parade would be happening soon.

SCFD firefighters have put 35 hours into decorating the truck, including adding the 7,000 lights and pink ribbons, to show our support for women fighting breast cancer.

"I thought it wasn't going to take very long to decorate it, but it has taken a lot of work," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said all of the lights were donated by the firefighters and fire cadets. The lights, he said, are almost all red and that they are even trying to arrange some lights to give the impression that water is being shot from a nozzle.