DECEMBER 18, 1955

Line of Duty Death
HAROLD U. DAVENPORT
(1921-1955)
FIREFIGHTER
(July 1, 1954-December 18, 1955)

Firefighter Harold U. Davenport, 34, lost his life on Sunday, December 18, 1955 just before 5:00PM after being dispatched by the Las Vegas Police Department for a cat stuck on top of a utility pole behind the residence at 2117 S. 15^th St. (between St. Louis & Sahara Ave.)

Davenport arrived on scene with a ladder truck along with Firefighter Robert Dietz who stood at the base of the ladder as Davenport ascended the ladder to get the cat who had been stuck on the pole for over two days.  As Davenport lifted the cat from the cross arm on the pole, he dropped the cat.  In the process the cat tried to scratch him and he threw his arm back, touching a live power line in the process.  Davenport was not engaged with the wire, but was lodged at the top of the pole.  Dietz then radioed for a rescue unit to respond to the scene along with a Mercy ambulance.  Firefighters Mike Dayton and Jerry Gillespie removed Davenport from the ladder and loaded him into the ambulance.  He was transported to Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced.  Davenport died of severe burns to his arm, leg, and face and of cardiac arrest.

His wife Mary and an 18-month-old daughter Kathy survived Davenport.  He also had a stepson, James Medici and a daughter Sharon that lived in Cincinnati, Ohio.  Services for Davenport were held on Thursday, December 22, 1955 at 2:00PM at the LDS Chapel at 8^th St. & Linden St.

  Bunker Brothers Mortuary coordinated funeral arrangements.

According to Las Vegas Fire Chief Elmer C. Gates, this was the first line of duty death on the Las Vegas Fire Department.

Davenport lived in a home he constructed himself in Paradise Valley.  Him and his wife Mary moved in the house ten years earlier on Mother's Day.  The Davenports were married for ten years. Previous to being a firefighter for the past year and a half, Davenport worked as a special officer patrolling the downtown area and was employed by Bonanza Airlines.

Davenport's name was placed on the Nevada Firefighters memorial in Carson City in 1994 and at the Southern Nevada Firefighters Memorial in Las Vegas in 2002.

JULY 30, 1986   Line of Duty Death

BILLIE COMBS

(5/1/37-7/30/86)

FIREFIGHTER / PARAMEDIC

(January 1, 1966 - July 30, 1986)

Firefighter / Paramedic Billie Combs, 49, lost his life while battling a fire which consisted of four houses under construction at 6641 Chardonay Way (Gowen Rd & N. Rainbow Blvd).  The call went out at 4:40 PM and Combs was assigned to B Platoon, Fire Station 9.  Units from Las Vegas and North Las Vegas responded to the blaze, which was declared under control shortly after 5:00 PM according to Training Chief John Ryan.  A total of 18 fire units and 43 firefighters responded to the blaze.  One other firefighter was taken to University Medical Center for smoke inhalation during the fire.  Four houses were completely destroyed by the fire and two other homes had partial damage.  Damage was estimated at $500,000.  A witness told investigators that he thought he saw flames near an electrical box.  He said the flames leaped high into the air and spread very quickly.  Construction workers were still working at the scene when the fire started.  LVFR fire investigators believed the fire started in the partially built house at 6641 Chardonay Way and it was intentionally set.  Investigators believed that a former employee who worked at the construction site was responsible for starting the fire.

It was hot and windy when the fire started.  The National Weather Service reported it was 106 degrees at the time of the fire and winds were gusting.

Combs complained of chest pain during the fire and was taken by ambulance to University Medical Center, after which he went into cardiac arrest during transport to the hospital.  He was pronounced a short time later after arriving at the emergency department.

Combs was appointed to the department on January 1, 1966.  He spent most of his career working with the rescue unit after being one of the first paramedics trained by the department in 1976.  During his tenure with the department, he received seven commendations, one for saving a child's life and another for saving the life of a motorcycle accident victim.  He received five other commendations for superior performance.

He was a certified life-saving instructor for the American Red Cross and taught swimming to mentally challenged children for several years.

"He was the type of employee you enjoyed having, the type of employee who made a good firefighter," said Las Vegas Fire Chief Clell West.  "He was very aggressive, always the first one to enter a fire and the last one to leave."

Firefighting was a family tradition in the Comb's family.  His father was a firefighter in Wichita Falls, Texas.  He was born in Oklahoma and was a Navy veteran.  He was a member of IAFF Local 1285.  In his off time he enjoyed hunting, fishing and golf.  He also liked to play darts.

His wife, Karen, was a systems operator in the classified department at the Review Journal.  His son, William; daughter Kathleen; father Arthur and mother Lucy Lee along with four grandchildren also survived him

He received full firefighter funeral honors in a service at the chapel of Bunker Mortuary on Saturday, August 2, 1986 and was buried at the Memory Gardens Cemetery.

His name was placed at the Southern Nevada Firefighters Memorial in 2002.  Las Vegas Fire Station 2 is dedicated to this fallen comrade.

OCTOBER 21, 2003

Line of Duty Death

RONALD EDWARD CREWS

(10/9/1956-10/21/2003)

ENGINEER

(10/6/1986- 10/21/2003)

RONALD EDWARD CREWS, 47 was a 17-year veteran of the department.  He was a Fire Engineer at Fire Station One, one of the busiest fire stations in the United States.  During his service with the fire department, he received a number of awards for service, including one that involved a rescue.

Before becoming a firefighter, Crews was a pro-football player for the Cleveland Browns after being drafted in 1980.  Prior to being drafted, he played football and attended UNLV and Notre Dame University.  Also during 1980, he married his wife of 23 years, Dora.  They have two sons, Daniel, 18 and Randall, 16.  One of his favorite things to do was coaching his two son's Little League team.  One year he coached the team to a championship.

Services were held at the Central Christian Church, 1001 New Beginnings Drive (US 95 & Russell Road) on Monday at 1:30 PM.  He received a full fallen firefighters memorial service which included a mechanized procession of fire apparatus that passed-by Fire Station One for the final response on Monday morning at 11:30 AM.  The memorial service was held at the Central Christian Church on New Beginnings Drive at 1:30 PM.

Engineer Crews died of job related cancer.

MAY 8th, 2007

Line of Duty Death

MARK THOMAS KEETON

(10/3/1962-5/8/2007)

FIREFIGHTER

(10/3/1988- 5/8/2007)

Firefighters will form up on Lone Mountain Road at the Lone Mountain Baptist Church and march, along with pipes and drums, with the motorcade east along Lone Mountain Road to Canyon Ridge Christian Church. (This should occur sometime about 9:15 a.m.)

AUGUST 15th, 2007

Line of Duty Death

KEN PREAS

(11/19/1946-8/15/2007)

FIREFIGHTER

(9/25/1983- 2/2/2006)

 SERVICES TO BE HELD FOR VETERAN LAS VEGAS FIREFIGHTER SATURDAY Full firefighter funeral honors will be conducted for a 22 year veteran firefighter of Las Vegas Fire & Rescue who succumbed to a short bout with cancer. In the state of Nevada, when a firefighter dies of cancer, heart or lung disease, it is considered a line of duty death. This is the fifth Las Vegas firefighter line of duty death.Firefighter Kendall Preas became a member of Las Vegas Fire & Rescue on September 25, 1983, and was assigned to the department’s Hazardous Materials Team located at Fire Station 3 on West Washington Avenue. He retired from the department on February 2, 2006. He was diagnosed with cancer prior to his retirement, in the fall of 2005, which fulfills the requirements for a line of duty death. He was born on November 19, 1946, and passed away on August 15, 2007, at the Nathan Adelson Hospice.The previous four firefighters to fall in the line in duty include Harold U. Davenport, December 18, 1955, while trying to rescue a cat from a utility pole; Billie Combs, July 30, 1986, while battling a large construction fire on the city’s northwest side; Ronald E. Crews, October 21, 2003, and Mark Thomas Keeton on May 8, 2007, both due to cancer. Cancer is considered a line of duty of death because firefighters are exposed to the numerous chemicals and smoke that are present at every fire. The cancer rate amount firefighters is three times higher than the average person.Services will begin at 5 p.m. at Grace in the Desert Church, located at 2004 Spring Gate Lane in Summerlin.A motorcade of fire and emergency units will meet at Fire Station 3 at Ernst May Drive and North Rancho Drive at 3 p.m. on Saturday. At 4 p.m. the motorcade will proceed from Fire Station 3 to the church. A foot procession of firefighters will merge with the motorcade at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Trail Center Drive and proceed to the church for services.