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Very few occupations, if indeed any, have histories as rich and colorful as the
fire service. Ours is no exception. This is the story of the Clark County Fire
Department and the challenges it has met and overcome in the last 50 years.
When it came time to stand and be counted, we were right there in the thick of
thing, doing what had to be done. This is a story of a group of brave
individuals who have responded to the call.
In 1953, Las Vegas was in a building boom. Mobster Bugsy Siegel had broken down
the doors of the high desert with the construction of the Flamingo Hotel, and
Vegas has never turned back. It was certainly not the first boom, nor would it
be the last, but it certainly seemed to get the ball rolling. The building of
resorts actually started with the opening of the El Rancho Vegas Hotel and
Casino in 1941, five years before the notorious Bugsy came to the valley. It
was Mr. Siegel, however, who brought the glitter to Glitter Gulch.
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Fire Truck circa 1930 |
The Flamingo, with its giant pink neon sign and replicas of pink flamingos on
the lawn, certainly stood out among the other resorts, all following the same
western ranch-style theme. The Flamingo was what Siegel called a "carpet
joint," an upscale resort modeled after glamorous hotels in Miami. Siegel was
murdered only six months after the Flamingo opened, but the idea of glamorous
Vegas was already put into motion.
The building boom triggered by the Flamingo's success in 1940's accelerated into
the 50's. Resorts that opened during that time included the Desert Inn, Sahara,
Sands, Riviera, Royal Nevada, Dunes, Hacienda, Tropicana, Stardust, Fremont,
and Moulin Rouge.
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As the building boom continued, so did the population growth. Las Vegas had
grown from 8,422 residents in 1940 to 64,405 in 1960. At the same time, Clark
County reached a population of 127,016. The unprecedented growth created
greater need for fire protection. The Clark County Fire Department (CCFD) was
organized on November 23, 1953. The revenues from the Winchester and Paradise
Townships provided funds for the construction of the first station. Thanks to
the “hospitality” of the Las Vegas Fire Department (LVFD), the eight-men crew
went to work immediately -- even before the construction of the first station
was completed.
From November 1953 until January 1954, the crew ran out of LVFD Station 2 (also
called Huntridge Station) located on the southwest corner of Maryland Parkway
and Charleston Boulevard. At first, they worked day shifts only.
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