Firefighters receive national awards

Monday, Aug. 13, 2001 | 8:49 a.m.

Las Vegas firefighters will be honored on Wednesday by the Las Vegas City Council after receiving awards from Firehouse Magazine.

Las Vegas Fire Department won a number of honors from Firehouse Magazine, the largest circulation fire magazine in the United States. The magazine's annual Firehouse Awards and Survey attracted entries from 250 departments that were judged by a team of fire service professionals from across the United States.

The Firehouse Magazine 2000 Heroism and Community Service Awards' Unit Citation Award went to Engine 1, Engine 10, Rescue 1, Battalion 1 and the department's public information officer for their work in helping a 77-year-old woman who was stung more than 500 times by bees in March 2000.

Crews used a fire hose to flush off the bees, then took her to University Medical Center. The beehive was later found and destroyed by the crew.

The 2000 Heroism and Community Service Awards' Community Service Award went to Public Information Officer Tim Szymanski for his work on several beehive awareness and response programs, including a website, hotline and classes.

The survey's 2000 Busiest Fire Station in United States was to Station 1 in Las Vegas, with more than 19,000 responses. That surpassed individual fire stations in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.

Other Las Vegas units will also be recognized at the City Council meeting for their outstanding performance.

Engine 6 will be honored for being the busiest engine in Las Vegas, with 3,313 runs, ranking it 52nd busiest in the United States.

Truck 4 will be honored for being the busiest ladder company in Las Vegas, with 2,044 runs, ranking it the 36th busiest in the United States.

Rescue 1 will be honored for being the busiest fire ambulance in Las Vegas, with 7,309 runs, ranking it the third busiest in the nation.

Battalion Chief 1 will be honored for being the busiest battalion chief in Las Vegas, with 1,022 runs.

Each of the honored crews will receive a plaque.