More Alarms, New Equipment In Fire Department’s 2015 Annual Report

The Yakima Fire Department was busy last year with a new fire service agreement with Union Gap -- and more alarm calls. The information is contained in the Yakima Fire Department's annual report for 2015 released this week.

Capt. Jeff Pfaff says one of the biggest challenges was the fire service agreement with the city of Union Gap.

"We ended up hiring all of their career firefighters," he said. "They're now part of our department. The positive for the city of Union Gap is they went from a single engine in a response to five so they get help a lot quicker."

Along with paying the new firefighters, the department allocated about $600,000 for new air packs and, for the first time, the department established a social media presence to help engage and educate the public.

And alarms increased last year when compared to 2014. In 2014 firefighters answered 7,606 alarms. In 2015, with the addition of city of Union Gap firefighters answered 8, 898 fire call alarms.

The annual report will be released today.