Las Vegas Fire Department chief talks changing times, roles

Depending upon your age, you might remember those early impressions of a fireman as some guy wearing wide suspenders, leaning back on a chair in front of a little firehouse and reading a newspaper while waiting for the fire alarm to go off.

Willie McDonald, chief of the Las Vegas Fire Department, admits that such an impression wasn’t uncommon that long ago.

“I became a firefighter in 1981. But when we talk about the tools and methods we used then, as compared to today, it’s like referring to the Dark Ages,” he said in an interview.

That’s because the role of the firefighter has changed significantly in a relatively short time.

“More than 85 percent of our calls today are for medically related reasons,” McDonald said.

So fighting fires is far from the primary responsibility of today’s firefighter.

In an address before the Residents’ Forum at Sun City Summerlin, McDonald touched on the many directions the department has taken since he became its chief three years ago.

The department has 12 bomb technicians, including some of the best-trained people in this field nationally, he said.

“Did you know that to be a bomb tech you must first go to the police academy and become a certified police officer, then go for firefighter training?” McDonald said. Those bomb techs are also deputized federal agents.

McDonald said he is proud that the city’s 650 firefighters have emergency medical training and that their trucks and other paraphernalia are equipped to save lives, whether for medical or fire-related reasons.

“That’s especially important in senior communities like Sun City, where (Fire Station) 107 answers so many calls for medically related assistance.

“There are 175 paramedics among us in addition to advanced EMTs (emergency medical technicians). Every one of our 20 stations has at least two responding units with paramedics on every shift, right around the clock.”

He added that one of the most important developments has been the establishment of the city’s Community Health Improvement Program.

“The city council gave us the OK to get CHIP off the ground, and that has become something very special,” McDonald said. “As a result, we’re changing the way we provide medical services. We have been working with UNLV and advanced students under the program, and it has proven very beneficial for everyone involved, especially for those in need of help.”

CHIP was founded by the Fire Department in 2013 in conjunction with UNLV’s School of Social Work. This year the program was recognized by the Nevada Public Health Association as its program of the year. In explaining “a new kind of paramedic for less urgent 911 calls,” McDonald provided a printed synopsis of the program.

Accordingly, students meet “their academic practicum requirements by servicing the Las Vegas CHIP team as student interns, providing health and human service referral and navigation assistance to users of the 911 system.” Among those who have been served are homeless people, victims of substance abuse and the frail, elderly, impoverished and mentally ill.

The department is doing a lot of work to better understand its own experiences in response to calls for medical assistance, especially from seniors, McDonald said.

“For example, firefighters very often respond to calls from folks with non-acute illnesses. In those cases there may not be a need for them to go to a hospital. Maybe they need a prescription; maybe they just need to feel secure. We are now closely examining those needs so we can better provide what they require.”

Herb Jaffe was an op-ed columnist and investigative reporter for most of his 39 years at The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. His most recent novel, “Double Play,” is now available. Contact him at hjaffe@cox.net.