Bertral Washington was ratified by the Clark County Board of Commissioners to head its
Fire Department on November 3, 2010. He is
the ninth fire chief for the state’s largest fire department and one of
the nation’s most visible.
Prior to his appointment by County Manager Virginia Valentine, Washington was an assistant fire chief at the city of Las Vegas from July 2007 to November 2010. His responsibilities included administrative and employee
services, which required management of personnel services for 669 employees and
leading programs for workplace safety, legal matters,
recruitment, hiring/separations, promotions, higher education, discipline,
critical incident stress management, information technology, payroll, records
and the city’s diversity initiative.
Washington’s career with the fire service dates back to November 1994 and included
assignments as assistant chief for support services and training as well as battalion chief, fire captain, training officer, paramedic and firefighter.
Washington has a master’s degree in public administration from the University of
Nevada, Las Vegas, a bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in
English from Howard University and an associate’s degree in fire science
management from the College of Southern Nevada. The chief is a graduate of the Carl Holmes Executive Development Institute and is an Executive Fire Officer Program Student at the National Fire Academy. He currently serves as a chair of the Nevada State Board of Fire Services and is an International Association of Fire Chiefs Communications Committee member.
Natives of Los Angeles, CA, Bertral and his wife Cheri
have 2 children, Chandler and Blaire. The chief has been a resident of Las Vegas for more than 20 years.
Washington is the County’s ninth fire chief. He replaced Steven M. Smith, who
retired in September after more than 30 years of service.
The department has jurisdiction over the world-famous Las Vegas Strip and the nation's 14th largest county. The total service area encompasses 7,910 square miles with an urban planning area of 293 square miles. The Department also maintains one of only 28 Urban Search & Rescue Teams in the country and
provides fire and rescue services to the nation’s sixth-busiest airport.