YFD fire house renovation includes upgrades and innovations

FOX 9's Adam Klepp saw the upgrades during Station Four's grand re-opening

YUMA (KECY-TV, KYMA-TV) - The Yuma Fire Department's Station Four had to delay its grand re-opening until after the pandemic, but the delay in festivities didn't diminish any of the station's new features. Station Four showed off some of those upgrades Monday during a grand re-opening ceremony.

YFD Fire Captain Steve Irr says they include some potentially lifesaving innovations. Irr says cancer is the leading cause of death among firefighters. That's why the station's new ventilation system is so important. It filters diesel fuel from the air. Another healthy upgrade: special washing machines that rid fire suits of harmful carcinogens.

Private rooms replace the station's previous barracks-style set up. The station now has a proper women's restroom, and it's dressing rooms and workout facilities got an upgrade.

Irr says more renovations are planned as our community grows.

“We run 2,500 calls out of this station, we also added an ambulance down here, to serve our valley community, so it’s really enhanced our ability to respond down here," Irr said.

Station Four brought back some familiar faces to help celebrate it's grand reopening. They included Capt. Donald Humphrey, who served as the station's chief when renovations completed in 2020, and his father, George Humphrey, who was the station's first chief when it opened in 1978. Together, two generations performed a ceremonial fire hose uncoupling. That's the a firefighter's version of a ribbon-cutting.

“My dad was one of the first captains to open it in ’78, and then me again a year and a half I was the first captain after the rebuild. So that was pretty cool," Humphrey said. "Back when it opened, this was the edge of town, and it wasn’t busy back then. Now it’s just as busy as the other stations.”

Station Four is at 16th Street and Avenue B.