Firefighters receive special training for water rescues

The Yuma Fire Department held an annual canal rescue training on Wednesday.

According to firefighters, they respond to 3-4 rescues a year. While they aren’t common, Mike Erfert with the Yuma Fire Department said the training is essential. Aaron Wonders, a firefighter with YFD said canal rescues are known as “high risk, low frequency” scenarios. In other words, although they don’t happen often, they’re dangerous when they do. “It’s very important [for them] to be confident in their skills in the water,” Wonders said. “If there’s a 9-1-1 call for this, it’s us that has to get in.” According to YFD, no matter how rare an emergency may be, firefighters must always be prepared. “They don’t happen very often,” Erfert said. “But when they do, we want our firefighters to be ready. And to be ready, they have to be trained and train hard.”