Yuma Fire heeds need

Growth will require the city to build four more fire stations over the next 10 years, the first of which will be built in 2009 on the east Yuma mesa, according to an update to the Yuma Fire Department's Fire Service and Facilities Plan.

The plan was first developed in 2000, but the city and YFD have updated it to match the city's growth and the rising number of fires and other incidents handled by city firefighters.

The fire department's updated plan will be unveiled at an open house at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Yuma Art Center, 254 S. Main St. The plan will be presented and explained, and personnel will be on hand to answer any questions.

"It's a level of planning that we have never had before," said Fire Marshal Art Castricone. "It sets up a template as to when we need to build a new station. In other words, it allows us to plan for growth."

Currently the YFD has six stations.

The new station, which will be Station No. 7, will be built at 34th Street and Avenue 8E, will be a two-bay station and similar to the last station built, which was Station No. 6. That station cost $2.6 million, and Castricone expects the new station to cost about the same.

"That will be an ideal site," Castricone said. "Our calls for services in that area are getting high."

Castricone said that area is currently served by Station No. 5, 6490 E. 26th Place, and it's getting more difficult for that station to answer calls in the vicinity of where the new station will be built and stay within an eight-minute response time.

The new Station No. 7 will include captains' and firefighters' quarters and dorms, a kitchen, an exercise room, a day room and areas for the station-assigned projects.

The fire marshal said the Yuma City Council could approve the purchase of the property where Station No. 7 will be built at its next meeting.

In addition to the new Station No. 7, the fire service plan includes the opening of a joint fire and police training facility, which will be on 30 acres at the northeast corner of 36th Street and Avenue 4E.

The joint training facility will include a high-speed, streetscape and props for a full array of law enforcement and fire training. The facility is expected to be opened in 2012.

Money to build the station and training facility will come from a public safety tax, which is part of the sales taxes.

In explaining how money from that fund is generated, Castricone said of the 8.4 percent sales tax that Yumans pay, 5.6 percent goes to the state, while 1.1 percent goes to the county and 1.7 percent is for the city.

The .2 percent public safety tax is a portion of the 1.7 percent of the sales tax the city receives, Castricone explained.

Castricone said the fire service plan outlines projections for the community's needs and will serve as a guide for the fire department for the next 10 years to help maintain quality service and to keep pace with the community's growth.

"We are really proud of this plan and we put a lot of work into it," Castricone said of the plan, which was first completed in 2000. "We worked close with city planners because they know where all the growth is happening."

According to the fire service plan, the number of calls the fire department responded to nearly doubled the past decade, going from 5,636 in 1996 to 10,097 in 2006.

Castricone added that YFD's fire service plan is the first to have been completed in the state.

----

James Gilbert can be reached at

jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.

----

During 2007 the Yuma Fire Department responded to almost 11,000 emergency calls for service. More than 8,000 of these calls were emergency medical responses and almost 300 were for fires ranging from trash bins to house fires.

YEAR BY YEAR SERVICE CALLS HANDLED BY YFD

1997 - 5,718

1998 - 5,676

1999 - 6,823

2000 - 6,823

2001 - 7,587

2002 - 8,453

2003 - 8,778

2004 - 9,208

2005 - 10,046

2006 - 10,097

TYPES AND NUMBERS OF CALLS HANDLED BY YFD IN 2006

1997 2006

Fire: 326 362

Emergency medical services/rescues: 4,655 8,330

Hazardous materials incidents: 207 250

Non-emergency service calls: 62 146

Good intent or false alarms: 450 1,035

-Most recent for which category by category statistics are available

Source: Yuma Fire Department