Strip’s party a safety success

Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2002 | 9:44 a.m.

Local public safety officials called Las Vegas' New Year's celebration a success from an emergency management perspective.

Representatives of the resort industry, Metro Police and Clark County Fire Department reported Tuesday at a meeting of the county's Public Safety Coordination Team that arrests and fire calls actually dropped from prior years' celebrations.

"We felt an event of this magnitude went very well," Tim Donovan, president of the Las Vegas Security Chiefs Association, said. "The opening and closing of the Strip was well orchestrated and improves each year."

Donovan said the only problem worth noting was when Metro inadvertently issued a notice that Frank Sinatra Boulevard would remain open for resort employees, which he said turned out not to be the case.

"Overall, it went very well," he said. "We just have to orchestrate information a little bit better."

It was also reported at the meeting that the Clark County Commission will be asked next Tuesday to approve a federal grant request exceeding $100,000 that will be used to develop a terrorism vulnerability assessment of the county and its municipalities. Some of the grant money also would be used to help train local amateur radio operators on how to assist public safety officials in civil emergencies.

Frank Siracusa, chief of the Nevada Division of Emergency Management, also reported that the state has completed a plan to assist Utah in the event of a mass casualty emergency during next month's Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

"If there is a problem in Utah that bleeds over into Nevada, I think we can handle it," Siracusa said. "Hopefully, nothing will happen."