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Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun
A Clark County Fire Department color guard stands at attention during the opening of Clark County Fire Station 32 located at City Center Thursday, December 10, 2009.
By Kyle B. Hansen (contact) 
Thursday, Dec. 10, 2009 | 6:34 p.m.
Sun Coverage
Six of the most exclusive rooms at CityCenter opened Thursday with a special ceremony.
But no matter how much you are willing to pay – or gamble – you can’t stay in them. They are for firefighters.
The massive new development on the Strip is home to Clark County’s newest fire station, No. 32.
The station houses a fire engine and a paramedic rescue unit that will respond to calls from CityCenter, which eventually will have more than 7,000 hotel rooms and condominiums, as well as neighboring resorts.
“Fire Station 32 is a critical public asset as it’s located in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip and will greatly assist the department with our responses along the resort corridor,” said Fire Chief Steve Smith.
The fire department expects the station to become one of the busiest in the county, even though it is a 5,700-square-foot building tucked into the side of Vdara off Harmon Avenue. Most new stations are more than 10,000 square feet on open land.
On Monday, the first day the station was staffed, firefighters responded to more than 30 emergency calls.
“It doesn’t look like they are really going to be here that often to enjoy the quarters,” Smith said.
The rooms are small and simple, but the facility has new equipment.
The station was built and equipped by MGM Mirage at a cost of $28 million as part of the company’s agreement with the county to build CityCenter.
“During the developer agreement process we recognized that there would be a high volume of calls that would come into this area and we also looked into the surrounding stations and they already had a high run volume,” Smith said.
Without the new station, Smith said the response time in the area would have climbed to 10 minutes, more than the seven-minute goal the department has for responding to emergency calls.
The station is the department’s first on a resort’s property.
“Like most of CityCenter it raises the bar of what is going to be required of future developments,” said Bobby Baldwin, CityCenter's president and chief executive officer. “We want to make sure that the resort corridor is as safe as it possibly can be. In some cases buildings are so big and so huge and there are so many employees and customers involved that the quicker the response time the better, and in order to accomplish that you may have to build your own fire and rescue station.”
Baldwin joked during the ceremony that for him, the station fulfilled the dream many young boys have: to have a fire truck.
“I finally got two of them,” he said during the dedication. “I’m 59 but I finally got ‘em. I didn’t know they were going to cost $28 million, but who cares?”
But the station is just one part of the development’s fire prevention and response plan, which was developed with help from the fire department, Baldwin said.
“The design of these buildings is in close collaboration with the fire department,” he said. “They are actively involved in everything we do in order to make CityCenter safe.”
Medical calls make up more than 75 percent of the department’s calls, Smith said.
The fire station also will serve other resorts in the area and will help relieve the burden on other stations, freeing crews to respond to residential calls when needed, Smith said.
Do they all really make that much or was it just the guy that kicked the other basketball player in the head?
Considering how little self-parking there is, will they have to valet their rigs? :)
Toured City Center yesterday and was impressed by what has to be the most expensively eloquent region of vast emptiness known to man.
Overheard someone commenting that "it is what it is" -- which seem to adequately summarize something consciously indefinable.
: {
"I didn't know they were going to cost $28 million, but who cares?"
Nice mentality....nice cush-o-la job for them,too.
A lot of them really do make that kind of money. Someone posted a website that shows each salary on another blog.
And they deserve every dime they earn. Not a big cost issue when it goes to someone who leaves the house in the morning unsure whether they will return to see their families that night.
Well as long as you have a HS diploma you can do it newman. Jump on it.
So, newman...add policeman, etc......the list is long of those with dangerous jobs.
dhvincent1-
No other fire stations lost equipment to fill the new CityCenter station, the department said. MGM Mirage paid for the new equipment for this station plus a new paramedic rescue unit that will go to another station in the future.
The staff for the new station were pulled from other stations around the county, but the impact was spread out so there are not any holes in service, Allison said, and the department will get 18 new firefighters when they graduate in January to fill those spots.
There is a regular traffic signal on the Strip at Harmon, which is where the fire trucks would get to the main road. But there are emergency signals for them to use on Harmon as well as on Frank Sinatra, which gives them a way to get to many of the resorts without driving on the Strip.
I love the spin on this one! Baldwin says they're "raising the bar" by putting in a fire station. Well in fact, I'm sure they wouldn't have bothered with the expense had it not been for the fact that CityCenter's main flaw is too many buidlings tightly compacted in a small space. Not even our incompetent state and county officials would have allowed that project to open, with that many residences on site, without insisting there be a fire response team on the property. Furthmore the homeowners would not have been able to obtain adequate insurance without there being a fire station closer than the one near Russell. Even with the new Harmon and Strip access the center of the layout would be tricky to get to on a good day. Nice try Bobby but not everyone is in a coma.
"On Monday, the first day the station was staffed, firefighters responded to more than 30 emergency calls."
Hmmmmm.......30 calls in 24 hours, do the math. Doesn't leave much time for these lazy firefighters to work out or nap in the Lazy-Boy.
It is common practice for developers to include a fire station into a new development that will increase the population in that area (ie Anthem, Lake Las Vegas, etc ). Low response times equal lower insurance premiums and better survival rates.
Interesting how everyone hates cops and firefighters until they need one.
You never realize how important the fireworkers and the police are until you need one/someone to help you. Great work. Respect.
Merry Christmas to all of You.
28 million for a Fire Station with 2 rigs. Seems like 28 mil. could build and equip. 4 or 5 nice stations. They must be including the land cost in ths figure, at the "boom" per square foot price. I imagine the majority of their calls will be ambulance calls. Congratulations to CCFD on your newest station.
"On Monday, the first day the station was staffed, firefighters responded to more than 30 emergency calls."
For those who haven't lived in downtown Manhattan, NY, where sirens are a part of constant everyday life, this could be an all new experience for everyone at City Center...including guests. Maybe the station should have been located at NYNY where it would have been more appropriate.
How DARE any of you throw any negativity towards ANY firefighter, police officer or any other first responder of ANY kind, including nurses! Shame on you all! AND LET ME JUST MAKE A COMMENT ABOUT THE 30 CALLS FOR THE FIRST DAY AT CCFD 32 AND LAZY FIREFIGHTERS! GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT! CCFD 32 did not OFFICIALLY OPEN to take calls until early evening around 6 pm. That means they had 30 calls (if that is even correct) within 12 hours of time. That is almost 3 calls an hour! They barely have time to eat and pee and sometimes DON'T. But yet they are there as fast as a bullet, rain, sunshine, snow, flood or fire to rescue YOU whoever you may be with no judgement (regarding your character - bad or good), no assumptions, with smiles, comfort and professionalism! I can say this because I know. I have been picked up by the rescue. These men and women of CCFD are the finest! They have obtained and carried the highest ISO rating! AND IN REFERENCE TO PAY - STOP POSTING THESE INFLATED SALARY FIGURES WITHOUT THE PROPER INTERPRETIVE INFORMATION IN YOUR PAPER AND ELSEWHERE PLEASE! IF SO, please state how many regular PLUS OVERTIME HOURS were computed with that figure AND how many MANDATORY SHIFTS there were, list the amount of times these people worked a 72 hour shift, YES That is a 72 hour shift - 3 days! with naps here and there, training to keep and improve skills, cleaning, cooking, rerolling hose, filling with fuel and repacking supplies for next run. There is no rest for the weary. ALSO include info of firefighters on Nevada Task Force 1 missions that work under incredible circumstances such as Hurricane Katrina for 24 hour shifts 7 days a week for up to 8 or more weeks at a time. These people are yelled at, shot at, burned, bled on, vomited on. You get the picture! And guess what? They do it all AWAY FROM THIER FAMILIES with honor and integrity! Many people wouldn't even think of working under those conditions! In fact some firefighters have died from these conditions... Don't complain about the taxes you pay for such services. They are a mere handful of bucks a month last time I asked. BUT whatever they are, they are well worth it! PLEASE... THINK... INVESTIGATE THOROUGHLY.... BEFORE YOU THROW OUT SUCH NEGATIVE COMMENTS! I would appreciate it! AND, I'm sure CCFD would too! Merry Christmas!!