Fire Department | City of Yakima

Yakima Fire Department

Message from the Chief

Chief Dave Willson Welcome to the Yakima Fire Department web site. This site is a small window into the life of our department and the services that we offer. I am very proud of every member of this department and their attitude toward the citizens they serve. The 78 uniformed responders answered over 10,000 calls of emergency last year to 91,000 citizens. Our dedicated staff of volunteer reserves give selflessly to their community in many ways. Our entire staff of 85 knows who pays their mortgages, and feeds their families. We are truly blessed to serve our citizens in the capacity that we serve. If you need more information than you can find on this site, please call (509)- 575-6060 to talk to a person (not a phone tree) during business hours.

Please Take Our Survey!

The Yakima Fire Department has served its citizens for over a hundred years. In an effort to constantly improve, we would appreciate some feedback as to how we served you. All information will be kept confidential.

This survey is intended for people living within the city limits of Yakima.

YFD Responses

Major Incidents 2011

Structure Fires: 103
Vehicle Fires: 59
All Other Fires: 257
Motor Vehicle Accidents: 514
Technical Rescues: 7
Hazardous Materials Responses: 20
Emergency Medical Aid: 5,417
All Other Calls: 2,062
Total Responses as of
December 31, 2011: 8,439

Major Incidents 2012

Structure Fires: 36
Vehicle Fires: 11
All Other Fires: 53
Motor Vehicle Accidents: 173
Technical Rescues: 0
Hazardous Materials Responses: 6
Emergency Medical Aid: 2,175/span>
All Other Calls: 655
Total Responses as of
May 7, 2012: 3,109

Smoke Alarms Save Lives

Click to watch video

This is the first of three locally produced public safety announcements (PSA) now airing on local tv stations.

Will the SMOKE DETECTOR in your home actually detect smoke in time for you to escape a fire? 90% of the detectors in homes are of the type that may not sound the alarm in time.

Not all Fires are the same: There are flaming fires and smoldering fires. Smoldering fires are more deadly because the poison gases accumulate while you are sleeping.

Not all Smoke Detectors are the same: There are 2 different technologies used in smoke detectors: ionization and photoelectric. A "Dual Sensor" smoke detector contains both technologies.

The Yakima Fire Department highly recommends having at least one PHOTOELECTRIC detector on every level of your home. A "Dual Sensor" smoke detector contains both technologies and offers the best detector protection.

Research has shown:

Ionization smoke detectors detect flaming fires marginally earlier than photo-electric smoke detectors
Photo-electric smoke detectors detect smoldering fires and fires starting in areas remote from smoke alarms significantly earlier than ionization smoke alarms. Fires that begin from a smoldering stage are more deadly
Ionization smoke alarms may not operate in time to alert occupants early enough to escape from smoldering fires
For both flaming fires and smoldering fires, photo-electric smoke alarms are likely to alert occupants in time to escape safely

If you only have ionization detectors, add at least one photoelectric detector on each level of your home as soon as possible!
If your ionization detector is 10 years old, either replace it with a dual-sensor (ionization and photoelectric) detector at the cost of about $25 or with a photoelectric detector (about $15).

How to tell the type of smoke detector you have:
The odds are high that you currently have ionization detectors in your home.

Ionization smoke detectors:

Have a lower case letter "i". Sometimes this "i" can be inside a square box
the phrase "contains radioactive material" or the radioactive symbol
You get false alarms when you cook

Photoelectric smoke detectors:

a capital letter "P"
the phrase "photoelectric technology"
makes reference to a "dual sensor"

Ionization And Photoelectric smoke detectors:

may make reference to a "dual sensor"
offers the best protection for detecting fire, but slightly more expensive than other models

Medical Emergency Cards

Recalling the details of which medicines you take doesn't come easily during a medical emergency. However, that information is critical in allowing professionals to care for you faster. Emergencies happen when you least expect them so its important to prepare ahead of time.

The Yakima Fire Department is offering yellow Medical Cards to help improve our response during a medical emergency. A medical card containing your contact information and the medication you take can be displayed on your refrigerator. This card will give us your vital information so we can better care for you more efficiently in an emergency. Specifically, it will eliminate the need for us to ask some specific questions when ill people are in pain and/or short of breath.

Stop by any Yakima Fire Station to obtain a card today. Also available in Spanish.