Clark County Fire Department (Nevada)

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.[3] 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.[4]

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 (16 km) radius of the plant was affected, and several agencies activated disaster plans.[5] 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.[6]