SAFETY: Being fire wise

First responders show their skills at FireFest 2006

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By LAUREN ROMANO

VIEW STAFF WRITER

"Fire-wise, this has been a pretty good year," said Pat Vannozzi, deputy fire chief of the Clark County Fire Department's Station 81.

Even though Mount Charleston does not have any serious blazes to report for the year, Station 81 and Mount Charleston Fire/Rescue still sought to raise awareness about public safety through its yearly FireFest on Aug. 12 at the Mt. Charleston Hotel, Event and Conference Center.

The free event provided education and information to residents and visitors to emphasize fire safety, fire and police awareness, multi-agency strategies and procedures. The event also helped raise money to provide gear, supplies and training for personnel at Station 81.

"FireFest started with public safety in mind," said Vannozzi.

In its sixth year, the event included demonstrations from the Metropolitan Police Department's K-9 division, its search and rescue helicopter and its mounted horse unit. There also were vehicle extractions, including the use of the jaws of life, live burn demonstrations to display the correct way to use fire extinguishers, and CCFD's Smoke House.

FireFest has always been held on Mount Charleston.

"It's nice to put an event on in the summer and be able to be outside," Vannozzi said. "It may not even be feasible to have the event here anymore because of the amount of people who show up each year."

The event also featured a children's portion with Jellyroll the Clown, teaching how to escape a house fire safely.

The event offered free fingerprinting and photographing of children from Nevada Child Seekers. In addition, children were able to have hands-on experiences with equipment used to save lives and put out fires. The equipment belonged to the CCFD, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and MedicWest.

"We came last year and the kids had a lot of fun," said Tiffany Bower, who was with her sons Zackary, 7, and Gavin, 4. "(Gavin) was most excited about the fire hose. We had to make sure to do this."

At noon, FireFest held a solemn ceremony in remembrance of all fallen firefighters and police, featuring the Nevada Sky Pipe and Drums, CCFD's Honor Guard, the National Anthem sung by Francis Lee, and a speech from county Fire Chief Steve Smith.

As part of the annual tradition, firefighters from Las Vegas Fire/Rescue, CCFD, North Las Vegas, Henderson and the Nellis fire departments, Station 81 and other teams from Clark County and between the California and Utah borders competed in games simulating drills firefighters use to save lives.

"We're here to support the teams competing," said Stephanie Fitzgerald, whose husband, Ramon, is a Hazmat safety officer at Nellis Airforce Base.

Bower said seeing the firefighters reminds her of all they do.

"It gives you more respect for the firefighters," she said. "Not that you don't always respect them, but you don't always think about them."

The event was sponsored by CBS Radio's Mix 94.1 FM and the Findlay Auto Group.