This Sunday at the Pahrump Nugget Events Center there will be a variety show at 2 p.m. put on by Twilight Productions t0 benefit Station 51.
The cost of the show is $15 and all the proceeds will go into the general fund for Station 51, which is located at the Nye County Department of Emergency Services.
Twilight Productions has arranged close to 35 acts that will have dancing, singing and comedy acts and there will be a no-host bar.
Station 51 is a fire station in Nye County that gets little recognition. The station is part of the Nye County Department of Emergency Management under Vance Payne and is all volunteers. Station 51 is the Nye County Emergency Services Technical Response, meaning they are trained in rescues and see action outside of Pahrump. Their jurisdiction in Pahrump is a support role only but are the go-to guys in Southern Nye County.
But why does this fire station need money?
Payne said the station needs money to help with non-major equipment items like uniforms.
“This fire station is 100 percent volunteer,” Payne said. “Most of the equipment that we have is paid for through grants, but small things like uniforms come out of the fireman’s own personal funds.”
Fire Chief Rich Flanagan said it’s mostly the younger volunteers that can’t afford the uniform.
“Most volunteer fire departments will have an association that raises money for these items,” Flanagan said. “And they raise money for equipment so we don’t have to ask the county for it. The guys that have problems with the uniforms are the 18-year-old guys.”
He said the Rotary Club of Pahrump Valley just recently bought them some expensive gloves for vehicle extractions and that this was a good example of what the donations will go to.
OK, that’s all well and good, but how come this fire station is not well known?
The station itself only handles calls outside of Pahrump and according to Payne, they handle just under 100 calls a year.
“We are a support department,” the chief said. “We could get called out by Pahrump if they needed us. We handle all of Southern Nye County rescue calls and our main mission is hazardous material spills. We are also trained in rope rescue, swift water rescue and fighting forest fires and structure fires.”
Flanagan said they were called out last year to handle the flooded cars on the highway in Amargosa during the heavy rainfalls that took out Scotty’s Castle, roads into Death Valley and parts of the Amargosa Valley.
“We will handle all those types of calls outside of Pahrump up to Tonopah,” he said. “We have five engines and 20 firefighters ready to roll.”
They also have a counterpart in the north that responds to the northern calls and is located in Round Mountain.
The chief said he will be at the benefit and is hoping all can stop by and partake in the fun.
Contact reporter Vern Hee at vhee@pvtimes.com