Clark County Fire Chief Greg Cassell stands with Veterans Tribute Career and Technical Academy seniors Laura Lomeli, Samantha Garavi and Ivan Farias, who won the department’s second annual PSA contest on when to call 911. The three are pictured Monday, April 17, 2017, at a news conference at the school.
Monday, April 17, 2017 | 11:52 a.m.
In the wake of a record number of emergency calls last year, the Clark County Fire Department announced the winners of its annual public service announcement contest today at Veterans Tribute Career and Technical Academy.
The winning 30-second video implores valley residents to only call 911 for life-threatening fire, police or medical emergencies and be prepared to give the address of the emergency, description and phone number. The 311 line should be used for all other nonemergency service calls.
“The emergency number is for emergencies only,” said Veterans Tribute senior Laura Lomeli, 17, one of three students who produced the winning PSA. “If you call 911 when you shouldn’t, it causes delays with dispatchers and could prevent crews from getting to another emergency.”
A total of 46 academy students participated in the second annual contest, using three weeks of class time and earning hours toward their community service requirement for graduation while producing the videos. Many participants want to become emergency dispatchers after they graduate.
“I’ve called 911 before. I’ve experienced it, and it has helped me personally,” said Veterans Tribute senior Ivan Farias, 17, another of the three students who produced the winning PSA. “I just want to give back to my community and help out.”
Samantha Garavi, 18, was the other member of the winning team.
The first-, second- and third-place winners were selected from among 12 PSA videos. The contest was judged by media members from valley newspapers and television stations.
“All 12 entries did a very good job with their videos,” Clark County Fire Chief Greg Cassell said. “It went from good last year to great this year, and next year we expect it to be excellent.”
The department received a record 154,346 calls for service in 2016, up from 152,522 calls in 2015, Clark County spokeswoman Stacey Welling said.
