County fire department audit set

Adrienne Packer

Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2000 | 11:27 a.m.

The Clark County Fire Department will undergo an internal and financial audit to determine whether the division is short-staffed and undertrained and, if so, to what extent.

Commissioners made the commitment to more than 100 firefighters who appeared at Tuesday's board meeting to express their grave concerns over a lack of staffing, training and equipment.

"We have major issues within our fire department," said Ray Ireland, president of the Clark County Firefighters Local No. 1908. "We don't want them studied, not committeed, not looked at -- we want something done."

Board members appeared surprised by the number of union members who turned out for the meeting.

"In the six years I've been here I cannot recall ever having such an outcry from our staff," said Commissioner Erin Kenny, who has received overwhelming support from the firefighters union during her campaign seasons.

The crew of firefighters was clearly frustrated that years of meetings and studies failed to provide assistance to their department, which is struggling to keep up with growth.

One by one, union members explained the problems within the department. They said a national study showed that departments of similar size have an average of 962 employees; the county has 593. The departments surveyed had an average of 29 stations; Clark County has 19.

The targeted departments received an average of about 55,000 calls, while Clark County last year received about 68,000. And the county's Flamingo Road station was listed as the busiest in the world.

Ireland said the department is handling the current population well, but in the future the lack of staffing could pose a serious threat to the community.

"These issues put before you are life-and-death situations," he said.

Fire Chief Earl Greene said after the meeting that the department has had a difficult time keeping up with growth. Greene, who acknowledged that the union's presence at the meeting was a challenge to his leadership, said he has been working on the division's shortfalls.

"We have been bringing them up, and we have been working on them," Greene said. "They're doing it in a unique way; I've been doing it in a quieter way."