Volunteer Firefighters To Help Fight Utah Fire
Two Clark County volunteer firefighters are leaving at 7:30 a.m. Friday, June 29, to help fight a wildland fire burning near Oak City, Utah, about 300 miles north of Las Vegas.
Clark County is sending a Type 6 engine with a two-person crew to the fire after officials in Utah requested assistance through the state of Nevada’s Emergency Management Division. The volunteer firefighters are Jon Palmer of Searchlight, Nev., and Tim DeBerardinis of Logandale, Nev. Engine 75, the Type 6 vehicle being sent, is a small fire engine based in Searchlight.
Clark County’s volunteers are responding to the Clay Springs Fire, located about 4 miles south of Oak City, Utah. The fire is reported to be 12,000 acres, and is threatening numerous structures in Oak City.
“We are proud to assist Utah as it battles this large and threatening fire,” said Clark County Fire Chief Bertral Washington. “Our volunteer firefighters provide a critical service to rural areas in our County, and many have special expertise in fighting wildland fires.”
Clark County has approximately 240 volunteer firefighters based in 13 fire stations in rural communities in the County. The majority of volunteer firefighters are trained to fight wildland fires.
Media Note: Before departing for Utah on Friday morning, firefighters Palmer and DeBerardinis will be available for interviews from 7 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. in the parking lot of the Fire Department’s Training Center, located at 4425 W. Tropicana Ave. near Arville. Please coordinate interview requests with Assistant Fire Chief Mike Johnson, who will be at the training center.
The Clark County Fire Department is the largest in the state and is responsible for protecting the famed Las Vegas Strip, the largest part of the Las Vegas Valley (293 square miles) and a County the size of New Jersey at 7,910 square miles. Its purview also covers the resort townships of Laughlin, Primm and Jean. The department has 29 full-time fire stations and 13 volunteer stations, responding to 129,721 incidents in 2011 – 3,048 fires, 116,694 medical calls and 9,979 other calls, including false alarms and mutual aid responses in other jurisdictions. ###
Clark County is a dynamic and innovative organization dedicated to providing top-quality service with integrity, respect and accountability. With jurisdiction over the world-famous Las Vegas Strip and covering an area the size of New Jersey, Clark is the nation’s 14th-largest county and provides extensive regional services to more than 2 million citizens and 42 million visitors a year. Included are the nation’s 8th-busiest airport, air quality compliance, social services and the state’s largest public hospital, University Medical Center. The County also provides municipal services that are traditionally provided by cities to almost 900,000 residents in the unincorporated area. Those include fire protection, roads and other public works, parks and recreation, and planning and development.