Las Vegas firefighters may be limited to off-duty charity fundraising

For the 58th consecutive year, Las Vegas firefighters are using time between emergency calls to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Whether they're able to use on-duty time to help the charity for a 59th year is in doubt.

Las Vegas Fire and Rescue Chief Mike Myers said the city may follow Clark County's lead and insist the long-running Fill the Boot program be limited to off-duty hours.

"I am evaluating that right now," Myers said earlier this week at a kickoff event for the charity drive during which firefighters use their boots to collect cash in busy parking lots or on sidewalks.

Although firefighters throughout Southern Nevada have participated in the drive while on-duty for decades, with no detriment to response times by all accounts, the practice has become controversial in recent years.

On-duty collection became a front-burner controversy in Clark County two years ago when County Commissioner Steve Sisolak publicly criticized it.

Sisolak's criticism prompted backlash from firefighters, including one Las Vegas firefighter who said she wanted "to shoot Sisolak in the (groin)" on a website that criticizes news coverage of firefighters.

Last month, Clark County Fire Chief Bertral Washington issued a memo putting an end to on-duty MDA fundraising that said, in part, "It is difficult to devote on-duty staff resources to extended events that are beyond our primary public safety purpose."

Myers said his opinion is that there is nothing wrong with Las Vegas firefighters conducting the drive while on duty. But he added that as a public official he has a responsibility to consider whether the public favors the practice.

"The instinct in my gut tells me it is the right thing to do," said Myers of allowing firefighters to collect while on duty. "But I need to weigh that some people don't like that."

Dean Fletcher, president of International Association of Firefighters Local 1285, which represents city firefighters, said it is a shame firefighters' duty status is even an issue.

"This is the major charity that firefighters throughout the whole nation support," Fletcher said. "It is a shame it is being made an issue. It is about the kids."

Firefighters in Southern Nevada raised $160,449 last year during the Fill the Boot drive and since 1954 raised more than $145 million.

The money goes to the MDA, a nonprofit health agency dedicated to curing muscular dystrophy, ALS and similar diseases. The money also supports health care and support for people with such diseases, including children.

In Nevada, the MDA supports a summer camp for children who use wheelchairs or have limited mobility.

The camp gives the youngsters a chance to make friends, exercise, play and relax and gives their families a break from the physically and emotionally demanding role of caring for a loved one with muscular disease.

While Clark County firefighters have asserted they won't let their boss's decision hamper fundraising, others aren't so sure.

Roxan Triolo Olivas, MDA public relations director, said she is worried a trend toward off-duty fundraising will result in less money for vital programs.

"Asking Fire Fighters to collect off duty can present a challenge in the amount of Fire Fighters that are able to participate in the drive," Olivas said in an email.

"It's simple math, less Fire Fighters, less boots to fill. While collecting on-duty in Clark County, Fire Fighters stayed close to their stations and never missed a call or compromised the time it took to answer a call."

Myers said he has received no pressure from City Manager Betsy Fretwell or the City Council to change the long-standing policy that allows on-duty collection.

At the Fill the Boot kickoff earlier this week, Ward 4 Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Stavros Anthony said he supports allowing firefighters continue raising money while on duty.

They are out in the community, they are ready to respond to an emergency, they are collecting money for work on muscular dystrophy," Anthony said. "I think it is a win-win for everybody."