Editorial: Fire report shows need for changes

Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2002 | 9:04 a.m.

One point towers above all others in the nearly 700-page state report on the Oct. 15 fatal fire at the AeroTech plant in Las Vegas that manufactured hobby rocket motors. It's a point that, tragically, often surfaces after fires and other disasters. The point is that county, state and federal safety regulations have a reason for being in place and failure to follow them is to risk lives, including those of workers, neighbors and firefighters.

The report by the state fire marshal is replete with instances of AeroTech ignoring or violating the codes and procedures established by government agencies to ensure safety -- including those that could have saved the life of the worker who died of burns. Such codes and procedures do not come about as the result of government agencies conspiring with each other to exert control over private enterprise. They come about over time and are based on what has been learned from past experiences. AeroTech was particularly honor bound to observe the rules, as its workers mixed hazardous materials, including ammonium perchlorate and magnesium, to make rocket propellant. Instead, the report documents a clear pattern of company managers allowing the government's rules, and even the company's own safety procedures, to exist somewhere outside the realm of daily product ion.

In late January a Sun editorial called for an independent investigation of the AeroTech fire and suggested it be done by the state fire marshal. With the Clark County Fire Department being criticized by one of its own employees and also by AeroTech in the fire's aftermath, it was not in a position to itself conduct the investigation. The state report, begun in early February at the request of Clark County Manager Thom Reilly, bears that out, as the fire department is heavily criticized for its inspection lapses before the fire and its investigative procedures afterward. Reilly and Clark County Fire Chief Earl Greene have acknowledged the shortcomings and have promised they will be addressed.

Changes at the county fire department and possible criminal proceedings against AeroTech are two results of the state's report. We hope there's another result as well -- recognition by companies everywhere of the life-and-death importance of following government and internal safety procedures. Even when no one's looking.