Just the Facts - Every Second Counts

For emergency medical response incidents, the National Fire Protection Agency recommends the first unit arrive on the scene with 6 minutes and 30 seconds or less, 90% of the time. Currently, the Henderson Fire Department is achieving this benchmark 57.3% of the time. The American Heart Association recognizes that the brain begins to die in 4-6 minutes without oxygen, and the damage is irreversible after 10 minutes. That’s why every second counts.

When fire strikes, national standards recommended the arriving unit get to the scene in 6 minutes and 24 seconds or less, 90% of the time. Henderson is meeting this benchmark 64.5% of the time. For every 30 seconds a fire burns, it can double in size, making every second count. That’s why we are asking you to vote YES on Henderson Question 1.

Call Volume

In the last 5 years (2019-2023), total incidents increased from over 34,000 to over 42,000, an increase of 8,000 calls or 23.1%.
In the last 5 years (2019-2023), the incident rate per 1,000 population increased from 105 incidents per 1,000 to 123 incidents per 1,000. Nearly a 17% increase.

Emergency Medical Call Volume

In the last 5 years (2019-2023), EMS calls increased from over 26,000 to nearly 32,000, an increase of 5,500 or 21.0%.

Patient Transports

In the last 5 years (2019-2023), transports rose from 19,000 to 24,000, an increase of 5,000 or 24.4%.

Unit Capacity

5 out of our 11 frontline rescue units surpassed workload capacity this past year (time related to all responsibilities assigned to a rescue unit such as time on responses, training, maintenance, report writing, physical training, etc.)

If we maintain our current projection in call volume, we will add an additional 9,000 - 10,000 calls in Henderson over the next 5 years. Our existing resources do not have the capacity to absorb these additional calls.

Station Renovations

District 84 call volume increased by 32% over the past 5 years, with total calls reaching nearly 6,000 calls.
District 98 call volume increased by over 27% in the last five years topping 5,000 calls.
District 99 (Senior community) call volume increased by over 40% in the last five years, at nearly 4,000 calls.
Another risk we are having difficulty managing is getting a ladder truck to a fire scene within the regulated benchmark of 8 minutes.

We currently meet this goal only 50% of the time. We need two additional ladder trucks to meet this objective.

Henderson also features one of the most extensive trail systems in the state of Nevada, totaling over 184 miles. 162 of those miles canonly be accessed by off road vehicles. Over the past several years we have responded to over 160 emergency calls on these trails. 70% of those calls required advanced life support treatments.

In the next 5 years, the renovations necessary to increase additional unit capacity, repair failing infrastructure, and modernize fire stations will cost over $70 million.

Increased Costs

Emergency medical supplies - Due to the increase in the number of calls and rising prices, medical supply costs have increased substantially in the last 5 years. From $665,000 in 2019 to $1.28 million in 2023! An increase of over $614,000 or 92%.
Apparatus such as fire engines, ambulances, and ladder trucks are expensive and have experienced an increase of 6.5% - 10% in prices.
Over the next 10 years, the cost of replacing rescues, engines, trucks, trail response vehicles, will cost over $25 million.

The passage of question 1 will allow our response time to once again rise to a premier city standard of 6 minutes. Which when experiencing a cardiac event, drowning, fire or any emergency can make the difference between life or death - because every second really does count.