Fire and rescue service reports a quiet Halloween

Statistics show that when Halloween falls on a Friday, Saturday or even Sunday, bad things are more likely to happen, but that was not the case this past weekend as local residents celebrated the macabre event one week ago.

The Nevada office of the Automobile Association of America, said the number of deaths among young pedestrians from 5-to-14 years of age is four times higher on Halloween, between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m.

Though service calls in the past normally spike on Halloween, Pahrump Fire and Rescue Services Chief Scott Lewis said though his department was expecting an increase on Friday evening, it turned out to be a relatively quiet evening except for two incidents at a local park.

“The trick-or-treating started about 4:30, but at about 4:45 we responded to a structure fire in a bathroom at Ian Deutch Memorial Park,” Lewis said. “It ended up where someone burned several paper dispensers and paper products within the bathroom. There was a second incident where a fire occurred at the park within 24 hours. It turn out to be a rubbish fire near the skateboard park following that structure fire.”

Additionally, the fire chief said crews responded to a motorcycle accident on Saturday, as well as an incident involving a horse.

“We responded to Highway 160 for that early afternoon accident,” Lewis said. “The motorcyclist’s injuries warranted him to be transported by air to Las Vegas. There was also an elderly gentleman who was kicked in the face by a horse. It wasn’t related to trick-or-treating, but he was flown out as well with significant injuries. From a Halloween perspective, there several small medical incidents, but overall, it wasn’t a bad night. There were no serious traumas related to trick-or-treating, that we were aware of.”