Published Thursday, July 5, 2012 | 8:13 a.m.
Updated Thursday, July 5, 2012 | 11:54 a.m.
Las Vegans celebrated Independence Day without any reports of firework-related building fires, a first in 16 years, but the holiday wasn’t nearly as quiet at nearby Lake Mead where more than 40 water rescues, including one involving a horrific accident, took place.
About 1 p.m. at the lake’s Sandy Cove, about 9 miles northeast of the Hoover Dam, a man was hit by a boat propeller, severing his right leg, said Randy Lavasseur, assistant chief ranger at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
Park rangers responding to the accident were able to control the man’s bleeding but could not fly him out due to windy and rainy weather conditions. The man was transported by ambulance to the University Medical Center.
Near Echo Bay, about 26 miles northeast of Hoover Dam, bystanders rescued a 19-year-old Hispanic male after he had difficulty swimming and drifted in and out of consciousness, Lavasseur said.
Rangers found the man without a pulse, not breathing and foaming at the mouth. They performed CPR and brought him back to life a minute later and cleared his airway until transport could arrive. The man was then airlifted to University Medical Center.
The conditions of both men were not released.
The monsoon-like weather also led to six vessel accidents, two disabled vessels, four emergency calls and 13 visitor welfare checks, Lavasseur said.
Among those rescued were five people whose boat had capsized. Lavasseur said only one person was wearing a lifejacket while the other four were clinging onto the boat when rangers arrived.
In Las Vegas, Fire & Rescue spokesman Tim Szymanski, said this was the first Fourth of July in 16 years without any reports of fireworks-related building fires.
Fire & Rescue units worked just one incident Wednesday in which a person was reported injured from fireworks, Szymanski added. An adult hit in the chest by fireworks suffered minor burns and was taken to the hospital.
In total, Fire & Rescue crews responded to 21 reported cases of fire-related incidents Wednesday, with most of them being Dumpster fires. These cases occur when spent fireworks are thrown out, then reignite.
Throughout the holiday, Las Vegas Fire & Rescue responded to 296 calls, with most of them being emergency medial responses. There were also building fires throughout the night, ranging from an oven fire to a malfunction in an air conditioner, but none of them were the result of fireworks. None of the fires caused any significant damage, Szymanski said.
Dan Kulin, spokesman for the Clark County Fire Department, said he hadn’t heard of any fireworks-related building fires in the county’s jurisdiction.
Spokesmen for the Henderson and North Las Vegas fire departments had not responded to messages this morning about fireworks-related fires in their cities.
As of midnight, all fireworks, including “Safe-N-Sane,” are illegal in Clark County until the next Independence Day holiday.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy