Yuma firefighters respond to two RV fire calls and a car hitting a building

Firefighters from the Yuma Fire Department responded to a call of a vehicle hitting a building and two separate recreational vehicle fires that happened within 15 minutes of one another on Tuesday.

The first report of a fire at an RV was at 5:15 p.m. at the Westwind RV and Golf Resort, 9797 E. 32nd St.

When firefighters arrived on scene, they discovered that the owner had left a large bowl of beans on the burner of the stove, which caused a large amount of smoke, setting off the smoke detector. A neighbor who heard the smoke detector going off called 9-1-1 and reported a fire. Meanwhile, the RV owner was able to turn off the stove before anything caught fire.

Mike Erfert, a YFD spokesman, said he wanted to remind the public that unattended cooking is the largest cause of home fires.

Then, shortly after 5:30 p.m., another RV on fire was reported, this time at Country Roads RV Park, located at 5707 E. 32nd St.

Upon their arrival, firefighters found flames coming from underneath a 40-foot fifth-wheel travel trailer. Erfert said the fire was quickly extinguished, but there was enough damage that it could not be reoccupied. Investigators determined the fire originated in the trailer's battery storage compartment.

Erfert said several of the fire engines and some of the personnel that were originally sent to the fire reported at the Westwind RV and Golf Resort were actually able to respond to the Country Roads RV Park.

“The first unit to arrive at the Westwind call was able to establish that additional units were not needed, so they were able to respond to the Country Roads fire,” Erfert said.

Later that night at about 9 p.m., firefighters responded to Payless Shoes at 2850 S. Pacific Ave. regarding a vehicle that had struck the building.

Firefighters found that a vehicle had jumped the curb and struck the front of the store, breaking the front window. There were no injuries and no structural damage to the store.