Commissioners frown on hiring private firm as airport firefighting force

Most Clark County commissioners shunned the idea Tuesday of hiring a private company to supply a firefighting force at McCarran International Airport to save money, saying it was impractical and might compromise public safety.

Instead they were open to having more of the county's firefighters trained in the specialized skills needed to handle airport emergencies. That way, those firefighters could fill in for sick or vacationing airport firefighters without being paid overtime.

Aviation Director Randy Walker and Fire Chief Steve Smith said creating a relief staff was the key to curbing the 33-person airport crew's overtime costs.

"Retain the current arrangement and look at training more personnel," Smith said.

Under the firefighters' labor contract, new candidates for airport duty can be put on a hiring list only every two months. Walker said he would like candidates to be tested for the airport jobs more often.

If an airport firefighter is absent, only a firefighter with the specialized training can fill in, Walker said. That generally means someone from the current airport team must substitute, almost guaranteeing overtime pay.

If one of the firefighters retires, the slot might remain open for months because of the hiring restrictions, pumping up the overtime even more, Walker said.

Airport firefighters must be certified through the Federal Aviation Administration. They operate specialized equipment and must know how to evacuate passengers from a burning plane and maneuver safely through an airfield.

Commissioner Steve Sisolak has talked of replacing or phasing out the 33 airport firefighters, most of whom have 20-plus years of tenure, making their wages and overtime pay more costly.

Airport firefighters averaged almost $200,000 a year in wages and benefits, compared with $180,000 that regular firefighters average.

A private company or new recruits could replace those firefighters, Sisolak said. Then they could be diverted to a growing relief staff to help curtail the Fire Department's overtime costs.

But Walker said the two main companies that provide firefighting services to airports have never worked with an operation as large as McCarran.

McCarran was the seventh-busiest airport in North America in 2009, according to airport officials.

Pro-Tec Fire Services supplies staffing to Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, Calif., and Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City. Rural/Metro Corp has a firefighting team at the FedEx hub in Memphis, Tenn.

Sisolak said the airport staff should talk to the companies to see whether they think they could handle McCarran.

"Why not ask them and see what they say?" Sisolak asked.

But a few commissioners voiced opposition to going private.

"What message are we sending out to the world about privatizing our airport?" Commissioner Lawrence Weekly said, adding that visitors need to feel safe.

It wouldn't be prudent to put McCarran in the hands of a company that lacks the experience dealing with an airport this size in a city that has been deemed a terrorist target, Weekly said.

Commissioner Larry Brown said that although the airport team responds to fewer calls than regular firefighters, they are prepared for disasters that could happen.

"We're gearing up for the worst-case scenario," Brown said.

Contact reporter Scott Wyland at swyland@reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.