PVFRS gets a good cleaning

On Thursday, Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue Services took a well-deserved break from a daily routine that is not a popular task.

Roughly a dozen members of the local AmeriCorps organization dropped by Station One, bent on putting a shine to several of the fleet’s service vehicles.

AmeriCorps member John Pawlak said the group wanted to show appreciation for what the fire department does each day.

“This is one of our yearly projects. We do different things around the community. We all wanted to show our gratitude for all the brave men and women with Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue Services especially on 9/11,” he said.

Mary Duff was part of the cleaning brigade and said she was 9 years old when the Sept. 11 attacks occurred.

“I was in fourth grade, but I remember the day pretty clearly. There was a lot of confusion and disbelief all around. I didn’t really fully understand what was happening. I was in school and they told us about it at the beginning of the school day,” she said.

Marlaina Porter said, “At the time, I was so young that I didn’t understand what had happened. I know it was a very horrible day for our country,” she said.

Fire Chief Scott Lewis said he and especially his crew are grateful for the AmeriCorps volunteers as well as others in the community this week.

“It was a great gesture that AmeriCorps came in a got our apparatus cleaned up and just wanted to be involved with the fire department on this particular day. We truly embrace that and we can’t thank them enough. There’s been so many different people who have come by this week with food. The community outpouring and support means a lot to us all,” Lewis said.

Anyone driving past the fire department on Thursday also witnessed the department’s Tower Ladder Apparatus with ladder extended as a somber tribute to all of the first responders and the rest who lost their lives in the aftermath of the attacks.

The Tower Ladder was also in service on the east coast at the time of the attacks.