Steve Sisolak
Sun archives
Angered that firefighters are still doing volunteer work while on duty, a Clark County commissioner wants to change Fire Department policy.
What volunteer work might you be referring to?
As they have done for decades, county firefighters have this spring staked out space in front of supermarkets to collect money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. They do this while they are on the clock.
Commissioner Steve Sisolak began questioning the practice a year ago. He said the department has not changed its policy of allowing firefighters to collect money during “boot drives” while on duty. He wants to bring it up at a meeting so commissioners can consider changing county policy.
What does he want the policy to say?
He said that if firefighters have enough work time to volunteer for one deserving group, then they should consider doing it for others.
“If they are doing this for MDA, then we have should make them collect money for other groups and support that, too,” said Sisolak, who added that he supports MDA and has donated to the organization.
Does the county’s contract with the firefighters union give them the right to volunteer while on duty?
No. The contract doesn’t mention it, although Sisolak said that had been his assumption.
That misconception might have originated in 2000. After former county Fire Chief Earl Greene questioned the fairness of using public employees to support one charity over others, then-Commissioner Erin Kenny got commissioners to approve a resolution praising their boot drive participation. The proclamation did not give a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to doing so while on duty.
But I suppose the Police Department does things like this too, right?
Not according to a Metro Police spokesman, who confirmed that only off-duty police volunteered for a recent Tip-A-Cop fundraiser, where officers work alongside servers at various restaurants then donate extra tip money to Special Olympics.
What about in other parts of the state, or other states?
North Las Vegas firefighters do the MDA boot drives on their own time. In California, firefighters collect MDA money on their own time as well.
But Clark County Fire Chief Bertral Washington said the Las Vegas Fire & Rescue, where he worked before being hired last October as the county fire chief, allows firefighters to work boot drives on the clock. He added that some county firefighters also contribute their free time to the boot drive.
“We think it’s good for Southern Nevada,” Washington said of the boot drive. He added that the MDA isn’t the only organization or activity that his firefighters engage in while on duty — they take part in 200 events while on duty every year, he said. These include career fairs, guest speaking, Nevada Reading Week, open houses, patient tours and parades.
“They get paid to be in a parade?” Sisolak said.
What do other commissioners think about firefighters doing volunteer work on the job?
Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani said that after the controversy over the boot drive last year, firefighters union leaders told her they would do the volunteer work on their own time if the department demanded it. She said she would call Washington.
After that call, did anything change?
Washington told the Sun that changes had already been made by the time Giunchigliani called him. He made it clear this year that boot-drive coordinators should do their organizing on their own time and use their own vehicles. He said he also made it clear that no one is required to volunteer, and all volunteers must be able to get to their units within one minute of an emergency call.
Did he require that firefighters do the boot drive on their own time?
No.
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