The Clark County Fire Department (CCFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the unincorporated areas of Clark County, Nevada, United States. The cities of Las Vegas, Boulder City,

North Las Vegas North Las Vegas is a suburban city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, in the Las Vegas Valley. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 216,961, with an estimated population of 251,974 in 2019. The city was incorporated on May 1, 19 ...

, Henderson and Mesquite each have their own fire department, but emergency management is provided by the county government.

History

In 1953, Las Vegas was growing rapidly with a growth from 8,422 residents in 1940 to over 64,000 in 1960. Meanwhile, Clark County had reached a population of 127,016. The unprecedented growth created a greater need for fire protection. The Clark County Fire Department was formally created on November 23, 1953. The revenues from the towns of

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

and Paradise provided funds for the construction of the first station.

Fire Administration

The CCFD is headed by a Fire Chief, currently John C. Steinbeck, who replaced former Fire Chief Greg Cassell on Feb. 7, 2020. The CCFD organization consists of six bureaus. Each bureau is commanded by a Deputy Fire Chief. These bureaus include: *Bureau of Finance Administration *Office of Emergency Management *Bureau of Support Services *Bureau of Emergency Medical Services *Bureau of Operations Training *Bureau of Homeland Security

Command Staff

USAR Task Force

The CCFD is the founding member of Nevada Task Force 1 (NVTF-1), one of 28 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces (USAR-TF) that are prepared to respond to state or federal disasters throughout the United States. The task force team is deployed by FEMA for the rescue of victims of structural collapses due to man-made or natural disasters.

Notable fires

MGM Grand Fire

On November 21, 1980, the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino (now Bally's Las Vegas) in Paradise, Nevada suffered a major fire. The fire killed 85 people, most through smoke inhalation. The CCFD was the first agency to respond, and thus was in command at the scene of the fire, which remains the worst disaster in Nevada history, and the third-worst hotel fire in modern United States history.

PEPCON Disaster

The PEPCON disaster was an industrial disaster that occurred in Henderson on May 4, 1988, at the Pacific Engineering and Production Company of Nevada (PEPCON) plant. The fire and subsequent

explosion An explosion is a rapid expansion in volume associated with an extreme outward release of energy, usually with the generation of high temperatures and release of high-pressure gases. Supersonic explosions created by high explosives are known ...

s killed 2 and injured 372 people and caused an estimated US$100 million of damage. A large portion of the Las Vegas Valley within a radius of the plant was affected, and several agencies activated disaster plans.

Stations & Apparatus

The CCFD is spread out throughout the unincorporated areas of the county in 42 separate fire stations, including one located at Harry Reid International Airport.

References

External links

Current active calls
{{Authority control

Fire Department A fire department (American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression se ...

Fire departments in Nevada Ambulance services in the United States Medical and health organizations based in Nevada