City plans sites for new fire stations

Erin Neff

Wednesday, Feb. 17, 1999 | 11:06 a.m.

The city of Las Vegas is beginning to look years down the road and far into the northwest to ensure that future growth is met with adequate fire service.

The Real Estate Committee agreed Tuesday to pass to the City Council four separate items dealing with future land needs for the fire department.

"This is going far out into the future, anticipating growth and needs in the northwest," said David Roark, the city's real estate manager.

The council will now consider allowing staff to apply to the Bureau of Land Management for land leases where fire stations or training centers will eventually be needed.

The proposed sites for stations are at the southwest corner of Hualapai Way and Grand Teton Drive, the southwest corner of Kyle Canyon Road and Rufus Road and the northwest corner of Hualapai Way and El Campo Grande Avenue.

The proposed training center site is at the southwest corner of Lone Mountain Road and Durango Drive.

"The city continues to look long range," Councilman Arnie Adamsen said before voting to approve all four items for the full council's consideration Feb. 22. "The city also needs to be aware that it also needs to be a good neighbor."

Adamsen suggested the city place signs on all four prospective sites to inform potential homebuyers a fire station may be built there in the future.

"We know a fire station is going there, but someone considering buying a house or a condo might not," Adamsen said.

Tim Szymanski, fire department spokesman, said the potential sites were earmarked during a recent assessment of response times, future growth and access to major roads from particular sites. That assessment was used in determining when a fire bond would be placed on the ballot for voters to decide.

The areas in which fire response times are over 6 and 7 minutes received priority in that assessment. The fire department will seek the public's approval next year of about $28.9 million in bond money for stations.

The stations discussed Tuesday probably won't be needed for five or more years.

"There's just not a lot of growth in that area now, but we know that someday that whole area is going to be built up," Szymanski said. "We're trying to be proactive."