Clark County Fire Department (Nevada)

The Clark County Fire Department (CCFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services for the unincorporated areas of Clark County, Nevada, United States. The cities of Las Vegas, Boulder City, North Las Vegas, Henderson and Mesquite each have their own fire department, but emergency management is provided by the county government.

Fire Administration
The CCFD is headed by a Fire Chief, currently John C. Steinbeck, who replaced former Fire Chief Greg Cassell on Feb. 7, 2020.

The CCFD organization consists of six bureaus. Each bureau is commanded by a Deputy Fire Chief. These bureaus include:


 * Bureau of Finance Administration
 * Office of Emergency Management
 * Bureau of Support Services
 * Bureau of Emergency Medical Services
 * Bureau of Operations Training
 * Bureau of Homeland Security

USAR Task Force
Urban Search and Rescue Nevada Task Force 1 or NV-TF1 is a FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force based in Clark County. The task force is sponsored by the Clark County Fire Department but also has members from the Las Vegas Fire & Rescue, Henderson Fire Department, North Las Vegas Fire Department and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

MGM Grand fire
On November 21, 1980, the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino (now Horseshoe Las Vegas) in Paradise, Nevada suffered a major fire. The fire killed 85 people, most through smoke inhalation. The CCFD was the first agency to respond, and thus was in command at the scene of the fire, which remains the worst disaster in Nevada history, and the third-worst hotel fire in modern United States history.

PEPCON disaster
The PEPCON disaster was an industrial disaster that occurred in Henderson on May 4, 1988, at the Pacific Engineering and Production Company of Nevada (PEPCON) plant. The fire and subsequent explosions killed 2 and injured 372 people and caused an estimated US$100 million of damage. A large portion of the Las Vegas Valley within a 10 miles radius of the plant was affected, and several agencies activated disaster plans. The Clark County Fire Department Chief alerted all units to the facility. The Henderson Fire Department has units already staged closer to the explosion and many were injured. The Clark County Fire Department units were the second department in and took over medical/fire operations as many Henderson firefighters were down and injured; including the Henderson Fire Chief and the passenger in his car. Clark County Firefighters donned specialized personal protective equipment and moved into the scene. Leaking tanks of anhydrous ammonia and residue from acid and other caustic chemicals took days to repair and clean. Two were confirmed dead on scene; Bruce Halker the plant manager’s remains were discovered in his wheelchair and controller Roy Westerfield’s body was obliterated in the final blast. Both deceased had physical disabilities that disabled them from clearing the blast radius of the PEPCON plant in time. Some reports detailed that Roy Westerfield recognized the inevitable explosion and stayed behind to inform both Henderson and Clark County Fire Departments of the impending disaster. The Clark County Fire Department and other responding EMS agencies transported over 100 patients to five surrounding hospitals along with their heroic fire suppression and chemical overhaul.

Stations & Apparatus
The CCFD is spread out throughout the unincorporated areas of the county in 42 separate fire stations, including one located at Harry Reid International Airport.