Crashes, various calls keep emergency crews busy

Motor vehicle mishaps and a few unconventional service calls kept crews from Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue Services occupied in recent days.

Fire Chief Scott Lewis said the weekend began with a report of a motor vehicle collision along Highway 372 and Pahrump Valley Boulevard just before 3 p.m. on Friday.

"We ended up having four persons injured where three were actually transported to the hospital," he said. "There was no entrapment in that accident and all of the patients are expected to recover."

On Saturday, fire crews were dispatched for a mutual aid assignment in Clark County on Highway 160 in the area of mile marker 37 for a vehicle fire just after 5 p.m.

"We found light smoke showing from a fifth-wheel toy hauler-type trailer," he said. "There was no one in the immediate vicinity of the trailer, and crews commenced in the interior to attack. Since we were in Clark County's jurisdiction, we notified the assistant fire chief in Clark County and they are investigating the fire."

On Sunday afternoon, fire crews were summoned to Highway 160 just after at 3:30 p.m. for a rollover crash.

"The car had left the right side of the roadway and the patient self-extricated and was medically evaluated," Lewis said. "They declined transport to the hospital."

Lewis also noted a few peculiar calls for service over the past week where crews were dispatched to the jail.

"At 9:31 p.m., we responded to the Nye County Detention Center for a report of a jail cell door that was wedged closed by an item of footwear," he said. "Crews went in and were able to get that situation squared away."

Another unusual service call involving a child had fire crews responding to an area elementary school last Thursday morning at 9:30.

"We were dispatched to Manse Elementary School for an extrication assignment involving a first grader who got their finger caught in an electric pencil sharpener," Lewis said. "The crews assessed the situation and determined the most prudent way to free the finger from the sharpener which was completely without incident. "The patient was transported upon the mother's request to the local hospital."

On Monday, fire crews responded to Pahrump Valley Boulevard for a motorist who suffered a medical episode while driving along Pahrump Valley Boulevard early Monday afternoon.

The unidentified motorist was driving southbound when he lost control of his vehicle, careening into the yard of resident Dan Sanders.

"I didn't see anything or hear anything until the fire department showed up," he said. "When the sirens stopped in front of the house, we looked outside the window and noticed he went through our fence, and he nearly hit my pine tree."

A motorist who identified herself only as Jessie was two cars behind the victim and witnessed the latter half of the crash.

She noted that herself, and others attempted to render aid to the driver.

"All I saw was the driver pull out in the middle of the road and stop," she said. "I thought he just broke down. He appeared to be a man in his 30's or so, and I hope somebody would do it for me if I were in that same situation."

Fire crews responded to the scene and transported the man to Desert View Hospital.

He is expected to recover.

Sanders, meanwhile, said collisions such as Monday's have happened before at his residence.

He appeared to take it all in stride.

"This is not the first time someone has driven through our yard," he recalled. "The last time they did it, they just kept on going. This stretch of road is common for people to lose control. In spite of all that, we're going to stay here because we've been here for 15 years."

Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com