Fire chief will stay in LV

Jace Radke

Friday, May 19, 2000 | 10:26 a.m.

Mario Trevino has decided to stay on as chief of the Las Vegas Fire Department after pursuing a job heading the nation's fifth-largest fire department in Dallas.

Trevino was one of four finalists for the Dallas chief's job, and traveled to Texas for interviews earlier this month, but on Thursday announced he would be staying in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman joked about why Trevino stayed and said he wasn't surprised by his decision.

"You don't get comped in Dallas," Goodman said. "We knew he'd never leave the best city in the world. The city loves him and it's obvious he loves the city."

Trevino was courted not just by Dallas city officials, but also by community leaders there.

Trevino said he was glad to have the decision behind him.

"We have made significant progress in the past several years, and I'm excited about the prospect of opening Fire Station 41 and breaking ground on Fire Station 10 later this year," Trevino said. "We have a lot of work to do with Fire Safety Initiative 2000, and I'm pleased that we can focus all of our attention to the tasks at hand."

Trevino has been Las Vegas fire chief since 1997, and makes $110,000 annually.