KELCIE GREGA
Las Vegas Sun
CLARK COUNTY, Nev. — The Clark County Fire Department is parking a dozen trucks because of a drastic reduction in emergency calls on the Strip, which was closed last month in response to the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.
The crews of those units are being reassigned to other areas, and nobody is being laid off, officials said.
Units taken out of rotation include five rescue units, four engine companies, one ladder truck, one rescue squad and one battalion chief, officials said.
“The majority of these units are in the resort corridor and are usually among the busiest in the country,” Fire Chief John Steinbeck said. “The drop in visitor volume has caused service demand to fall significantly in these areas.”
Steinbeck said the situation was “very fluid” and that “a unit that makes sense to temporarily shut down this week may very well not make sense next week.”
Gov. Steve Sisolak ordered casinos statewide closed in mid-March to help curb the spread of the virus.
The governor has not announced a date to reopen, but he said today a stay at home order set to expire at the end of the month will be extended “a little bit.”
Steinbeck said the fire department will “continuously reevaluate the demands for service across the county so we can fully utilize our resources as efficiently as possible.”
Steinbeck said the realignment will likely save the department a significant amount of money, although he could not say how much.
Clark County is projecting a $1 billion loss in revenue over the next 16 months as a result of the coronavirus crisis, Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Colvin said earlier this month.
County officials said they will need to make cuts to shore up the budget, and the fire department will not be exempt.
“This is an unprecedented situation that our community is in, and management and labor must work together to get through this crisis,” said Steve Thompson, president of International Association of Firefighters Local 1908.
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