Las Vegas first responders stretched thin amid rampant use of illegal fireworks

By Ric Anderson, Ricardo Torres-Cortez

Published Wednesday, July 6, 2016 | 2 a.m.

Updated Saturday, July 9, 2016 | 8:18 p.m.

In the days before the Fourth of July, authorities launched a public-awareness campaign to urge Las Vegas Valley residents not to set off illegal fireworks as part of their holiday celebrations.

But as anyone who was near the valley on Monday night knows, a lot of people either didn't get the message or ignored it.

The fireworks blooming in every part of the city sent firefighters and other emergency responders hopping, with Las Vegas Fire & Medical going on 1,024 calls; crews on average respond to 731 a day. Most of the calls involving actual fires in the Las Vegas jurisdiction — 112 — were related to fireworks. Most of them were for blazes in grass, brush and trees. Although no major fires were reported, there were fireworks-related injuries and fires in Las Vegas and reports of fires in Clark County.

In Las Vegas, a girl suffered serious burns after a blast, fire officials said. Witnesses told authorities that a “grand finale” of illegal fireworks taped together and set off went wrong, firing sideways into a home's garage and injuring the girl. Police and fire officials are investigating, officials said. She is expected to survive.

About 11 p.m., firefighters were called to the area near Farm Road and Buffalo Drive. There were reports of a large series of illegal fireworks exploding, injuring 40 to 50 people and setting a palm tree on fire. Most of the 100 onlookers scattered by the time crews arrived. It wasn't immediately clear if the injured were treated.

Two significant building fires investigated on the holiday were not linked to fireworks, Las Vegas fire officials said. However, response of extra crews to one of them was delayed due to firefighters putting out tree fires throughout the city, said Tim Szymanski, Las Vegas Fire and Rescue spokesman.

Szymanski said that in his 20-year career in Las Vegas, he'd never seen as many illegal fireworks displays as on Monday.

“We were stretched very thin,” he said. "We had all of our units out.”

He said a major consequence of illegal fireworks is the fire threat that causes emergency crews to be saturated and unavailable for other emergencies.

“They’re putting other people's lives at risk when they do that,” he said.

In a 30-hour period from midnight Monday to 6 a.m. Tuesday, the North Las Vegas and the Clark County fire departments responded to 265 fire calls, county spokesman Erik Pappa said.

Exterior fire calls, which include grass and trees, amounted to 234 of those calls; there were also 15 structure fires, eight smoke investigations and eight vehicle blazes, he said.

Investigators believe most of those calls were related to fireworks, he said.

In Henderson, trashed and used fireworks at a home caused a blaze that spread to two parked vehicles and the garage of a nearby house. Crews were called about 11:15 p.m. to the 1100 block of Enchanted Court, near Burkholder Boulevard and South Racetrack Road.

No one was injured, but six adults and four children were displaced. Damage was estimated at $105,000, the Henderson Fire department said.

Kathleen Richards, Henderson fire department spokeswoman, said there were also several brush fires, the biggest one reported at Whitney Mesa Nature Preserve. There was no damage estimate, she said.

No major fires were reported in North Las Vegas, but three people were wounded in a shooting over loud fireworks at an apartment complex early Monday, city police said.

The three people wounded were expected to survive, police said. Officers were called about 2:30 p.m. to the Trellis Park complex, near Craig Road and Allen Lane. The suspected shooter, who was arrested, had confronted his neighbors about noise from the fireworks, police said.

As in years past, authorities came into the holiday taking an educational approach to reducing illegal fireworks. They issued news releases and staged an event featuring Clark County commissioners to explain what types of fireworks were legal and warn of the potential health hazards associated with illegal fireworks. They also stressed the financial implications: violations carry high fines, and accidents can result in increased insurance premiums.