Valley rescue units face increased challenge without trauma center

Stephen Curran

Friday, July 5, 2002 | 11:03 a.m.

As Las Vegans were gearing up for their annual Independence Day celebrations, rescue personnel at Clark County Fire and Rescue Station 16 were getting ready for a busy night.

This Fourth of July was the city's first without a trauma center since another Bush was in the White House, and rescue personnel were faced with getting used to not having the facility on one of the busiest nights of the year.

"Now we're back to square one or even lower," said Capt. Mike Atchley, a 15-year-veteran of the Clark County Fire Department. "I wouldn't say closing the trauma center has caused an impact, but it has caused concerns on where we're going to bring patients."

But as the evening continued, firefighters found that it would be spent not battling huge structure fires that threaten lives and property, but putting out small brush fires -- a lot of them.

Most of the numerous small brush fires were caused mainly by wayward fireworks, fire officials said.

As the city has grown, so has the size of its emergencies, and the closing of the trauma center is a step backward for a community still catching up, said Acting Capt. Greg Fitzgerald.

"It's unfortunate for the public," he said. "Back then (before the center) is what we're going to see now."

Back then means a time when, instead of bringing all traumas to a standard location, they were divided among the city's emergency rooms -- many of which become crowded on busy nights. This means rescue personnel must be diverted to other locations, a move that makes their job all the more complicated.

One of the night's more serious calls came at about 11 p.m. Thursday, when firefighters were called to a yard fire near Corvette and Renault streets. Three engines responded and the blaze was put out in a matter of minutes. There was no structure damage or injury, but the fire did char the already dry yard.

Firefighters believed the fire was caused by a stray firework.

Between calls, the crew of 10 firefighters did as many Americans do on the holiday -- they watched movies and ate. This is all part of the job, said Atchley, one for which an "average day" does not exist.

"It's hard to compare (with other holidays)," he said. "We could get lucky and not have any calls or we could just be swamped."

He estimated that this holiday was busier than most on account of the fireworks-related brush fires, but said it was not as busy as he had anticipated.

With primarily fire-related calls, however, the evening can seem busier, said firefighter Ray McCorvey, a six-year veteran, as even a seemingly insignificant brush fire can be quite time-consuming.

"It takes a lot out of you," he said. "It makes the holiday that much tougher."

And, as Las Vegas faces its driest summer in years, the firefighters were taking no chances, preparing for a night battling blazes. But while they faced their fair share of brush fires, it was not as busy as they had anticipated, Fitzgerald said.

"I actually expected it to be a little busier with all the dry brush," he said.

The crew was called to one such fire at 10:15 p.m. off Charleston Boulevard, but found it had already been extinguished before they arrived.

And, while it may not have been a glamorous evening, the firefighters all said they could not imagine doing anything else. Atchley, 36, said he plans to continue as a firefighter as long as he can pass his physicals.

"I've not one time said I didn't want to come to work," he said.