Two students sent to YRMC due to heat illnesses

The Yuma Fire Department said two students were taken to the hospital after being out in the sun during a school evacuation.

YFD said Thursday just before 1:00 pm, a pull station fire alarm was received from Castle Dome Middle School, located at 2353 South Otondo Drive.

The school was in session at the time and YFD personnel arrived to find evacuations in progress. Firefighters said they worked with school officials to confirm there was no fire in the school and determined this had been a false alarm set off by a student. The process of determining no danger existed took about 20 minutes before students could begin reoccupying the school.

After the school had been reoccupied, YFD said students began to report to the nurse’s office with various heat illness type symptoms such as upset stomachs, dizziness, headaches, etc. YFD personnel evaluated seven students. As a precaution, two students were transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center for further evaluation. School nursing staff also saw other students with more minor complaints. Temperatures this afternoon were expected to reach 115 degrees and would have been close to that at the time of this incident.

YFD said false alarms draw off precious resources from where they are needed. Thursday saw multiple calls for service responding to medical emergencies, downed power lines, and fires. Besides putting others at risk, as with the dangerously hot temperatures, responses to those in life threatening emergencies can be slowed and response times lengthen by false alarms. The student who pulled the alarm has been identified, and Yuma Police Department personnel were investigating.