Bathroom fire damages Yuma apartment unit

A bathroom in an apartment unit caught on fire due to a bag of dirty clothes soiled with cooking grease and oil early Tuesday morning. The Yuma Fire Department (YFD) received the apartment fire report shortly before 1 a.m. on Tuesday, March 28. Firefighters found the fire in the bathroom of an apartment unit at First Avenue Apartments said YFD. The fire was quickly extinguished and was contained to the unit it began in mentioned YFD. The occupant was not home when the fire happened. YFD says the apartment unit sustained heavy fire damage and was not able to be reoccupied. Since the power to the apartment had to be secured, the neighboring apartment was not able to be reoccupied either said YFD. The American Red Cross assisted the displaced occupants.
KYMA-TV NBC 11 Yuma

Summit Fire is closing an east side station, they want the community to help them decide which one

Summit Fire and Medical District will close one eastside firehouse this year, and they’re asking the public to help them decide which one to keep. There are three stations on the east side of the Summit Fire and Medical District: Station 31, on Cosnino Road; Station 32, on Koch Field Road; and Station 33, on Firehouse Lane near the Summit Fire District Maintenance building and Highway 89. While there are three fire stations, right now there are only two Summit Fire engine companies operating on the east side. Due to budgetary constraints, in 2021, the Summit Fire Board dissolved one engine crew worth of personnel. One of the two remaining crews has manned Station 31. Since October, the other crew has rotated between the Koch Field Road station and the firehouse near Highway 89.
Arizona Daily Sun - Metered Site

Tanker technician who died in 2021 in Avondale trying to save coworker given Carnegie medal

A Phoenix man who died in 2021 at an Avondale truck wash after attempting to save a coworker who passed out inside a tanker trailer containing chemicals has been posthumously given a medal. Roberto Longoria, 42, passed away on Aug. 29, 2021, after he was exposed to hydrogen sulfide gas during a workplace incident at Danny’s Truck Wash, located near 99th Avenue and McDowell Road. Another employee, Jose Perez, reportedly got inside the tanker trailer first to fix a drainage issue. After Longoria noticed Perez was unconscious, he grabbed a respirator, told the driver to call 911, and entered the trailer. Longoria soon fell unconscious too and both men had to be removed from the trailer by firefighters. Neither of them survived. The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission has recently selected Longoria as one of the 15 civilians who will receive the organization's hero medal.
KPNX-TV NBC 12 Mesa

Arizona wildland firefighters begin training for wildfire season

VIDEO: Wildland firefighters are preparing for what some experts believe will be a bad wildfire season after recent rains created an abundance of fuel. “It definitely turns out to be a long-tiring summer,” said Terry House, Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management Captain. “This is the start of expected fire activity statewide.” Firefighters from different departments and across the state are training for what’s ahead, including imagining a dire situation with crews entering a fire shelter, the last resort for safety on the front lines. They also game-planned around a sand table, a tool to strategize against the flames. In addition, the firefighters brushed up on their skills in pumping water from a body of water instead of a hydrant.
KOLD-TV CBS 13 Tucson

Golder Ranch Fire District announces memorial services for Captain Randall Watts

he Golder Ranch Fire District (GRFD) has announced memorial services for Captain and Paramedic Randall Watts, who passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, March 21st. A viewing will be held for only family, friends and GRFD on Tuesday, March 28th. A funeral service will be on Wednesday, March 29th, at the Oro Valley Church of the Nazarene (500 W Calle Concordia) at 10 a.m. The service will be open to the public and there will be a procession before the service at 9 a.m. The procession will begin at the intersection of Innovation Park and Rancho Vistoso Blvd and will proceed south on Innovation Park to Tangerine Blvd. It will continue along westbound Tangerine to southbound La Cañada to eastbound Calle Concordia. Residents should expect delays and extended travel time along the route. Captain Watts leaves behind his wife Rebekah, 6 children and a grandchild.
KOLD-TV CBS 13 Tucson

Pine-Strawberry Fire Department gets a little help from its friends

The Pine-Strawberry Fire Department needs a little help from its friends. And that’s what it’s getting – at least an itty bitty bit of help. The fire department will get a $37,000 grant from the Gila River Indian Community to buy three defibrillators – which can restart a stopped heart in an emergency. The department will also get $32,000 from Gila County to buy 13 new radios, to improve communications on an emergency call – and connect Pine crews with other first responders. Rural fire districts like Pine have been struggling, with a rising tide of emergency calls for things like accidents on the highway and rescues in hard-to-reach Fossil Creek. The fire district covers an unincorporated area and so relies almost entirely on property taxes – with neither a sales tax nor high-value commercial and industrial property to generate revenue.
Payson Roundup - Metered Site

Wildfires still a threat despite wetter winter, state officials warn

Just because the winter was wetter than usual doesn't mean Arizonans should let their guard down this wildfire season, state fire officials warned Monday. Arizona has seen above-average rainfall recently, and the National Weather Service is predicting the severity of this year's wildfire season will be normal or below average. The threat remains, and fire officials emphasized that danger will grow as the weather gets warmer, particularly in central and southern Arizona. A wetter winter is better for drought conditions but creates more vegetation that helps fuel wildfires when it dries out over the summer. The potential for blazes is especially high in southern Arizona, state fire management officer John Truett said, where two to three years' worth of grasses provide plenty of fuel.
AXIOS Phoenix

Firefighter Angel Foundation Hosts Annual Pancake Breakfast

Firefighter Angels is excited to announce their annual Pancake Breakfast for Sunday, April 16 at 8:00 am in Prescott, Prescott Valley, and Chino Valley! This pancake breakfast event is a family event where you can enjoy breakfast at local firehouses with other members of the community and firefighters all in an effort to raise funds to support the Firefighter Angel Foundation. Breakfast is only $5.00 and will be from 8:00 am to noon at three locations. In addition to breakfast, there will be apparel, an auction, kids activities, information about the Firefighter Angel Foundation, and visits with our first responders.
Signals AZ