Fire House Facts & Bathtub Water Safety

08/23/2012 | Kayla Holiman, Fire Inspector

The Yuma Fire Department responded to 219 emergency calls for service

• 4 Commercial Assignments
  Including: Smoke coming from air vents at a business, a light ballast smoking in the classroom at an adult education building, and various alarms
• 1 Mutual Aid Assignment
  Including: Assisting Rural Metro with a structure fire in the county
• 14 Motor Vehicle Crashes
• 173 Other Medical Emergencies (serious to minor)
  Including: 9 for difficulty breathing, 11 for chest pain, 18 fall victims, 2 unconscious people, 4 seizure cases, 1 stroke, 16 people with psychiatric problems, 33 trauma injuries, 3 diabetic emergencies, 1 poisoning, 2 allergic reactions, 5 dehydrated people, children locked inside of a vehicle, and other illnesses and injuries
• 27 Special Duty, Public Assistance, and Residential Assignments
  Including: A kitten stuck in wires in a yard, a kitten in a storm drain, a baby rattlesnake in the back yard of a residence, a dog locked inside of a vehicle, a small rattlesnake trapped on a property, a small dog trapped in a hole, a fire in the back yard of a residence, a vehicle fire in the garage of a home, a barbecue grill fire from a regulator leaking propane, a vehicle fire, the smell of natural gas in a residence, a trash fire in an alley way, and various alarms

Bathtub Water Safety

The month of August has been proclaimed Drowning Impact Awareness Month. Children 4 years of age and younger represent the largest number of victims and it is a reminder for parents, or anyone responsible for children, to never leave them unsupervised around water. The first things that come to mind when people think water safety are generally pool safety, river safety, or staying out of canals. Many people forget about a year round water threat….the bathtub.

In the past, the Yuma Fire Department has responded to a possible infant drowning in a bathtub. This serves as a reminder that infants can drown in as little as one inch of water, and it can happen in “just a few seconds.” Preventing these tragedies is critical. www.preventdrownings.org (This link will take you to an external website that is not part of the City of Yuma official website.) provides some excellent tips for bathroom safety:

• Children must be supervised while bathing. Leaving a child in charge of a younger sibling is not acceptable. Many tragedies occur when the child is left alone in the tub for "just a few seconds" while the telephone is being answered or while the parent or adult caretaker is getting a towel.
• Never turn the shower head on and leave children unattended. The drain of the tub can become engaged, creating enough standing water for infants and children to drown.
• The bathtub is not to be used as an unsupervised playground, but as a fun time to be shared with the parent or adult caretaker. It is very important to immediately empty the bathtub once the bath is finished.
• Children have also been known to drown in toilet bowls. A young toddler is inquisitive by nature and is drawn to any body of water, including the toilet bowl. Because of a toddler's head and body weight distribution, the child that reaches into the toilet and falls in head first may not have the strength to right himself and escape. Silently, the child drowns. Safety latches for toilet seats are recommended.