GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK PUBLIC SAFETY
The Visitor Protection Division of the Grand Canyon National Park (which is a unit of the Natl Park Service under the Dept of Interior) provides fire, rescue, and police services in the Grand Canyon National Park.
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Branch of Emergency Services - Sept 1997 info
Chief of Emergency Services - 1994 Jeep Cherokee
Search and Rescue Coordinator - 1995 Ford Bronco
Fire Chief - 1989 Chevy FWD Pickup/1995 Ford FWD pickup truck
Engine 1 - 1993 IH/KME at South Rim
Engine 2 - 1969 IH Model 190 at South Rim at Paul Harvey Site
Engine 3 - 1982 Hendrickson 1000GPM/750gal at North Rim
Engine 4 - 1973 Ford/Ward La France FWD USAF surplus at Desert View (?replaced in 1997)
Rescue 2 - 1977 Chevy Step Van
Rescue 3 - 1985 Ford F-250
Rescue 4 - 1977 Dodge FWD mil surplus ambulance (was Rescue 3)
Medic 1 - 1994 Ford/Wheeled Coach Ambulance at South Rim
Medic 2 - 1983 Ford/Collins Van Ambo at South Rim
Medic 3 - 1991 Wheeled Coach Amb at North Rim
Medic 4 - 1980 Ford/Road Rescue Van Amb at Desert View
Branch of Wildfire Management
Eng 11
Eng 12
Eng 21 - North Rim
Eng 22
(have a couple of 500/500 midi pumpers - 1998)
One helicopter (?BMK) is leased yearround to do public safety work.
There are approximately 200 fulltime NPS employees who live in the Grand Canyon NP. 45 of the fulltime employees are law enforcement commissioned rangers, many of whom are also trained as structural firefighters and EMS workers (paramedic and EMT). During the summer, an additional 45 law enforcement rangers and 10 wildfire fighters are hired.
1995 info - (also see 10/98 Firehouse - has a couple of photos of rigs)
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172.45R - Primary 168.350 - Tactical 172.575R - Primary Fire/SAR Channel 172.60 - Tactical Channel 153.89R - Fred Harvey Company Fire Ops 156.12R - Grand Canyon Airport Fire Ops
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1996 Annual Park EMS Report by EMS Coordinator Sherrie Collins 520/638-7840 - done 3/11/97 - 100 EMS providers - 10 perm first responders + 5 seasonal first responders + 52 permanent EMTs + 12 seasonal EMTs + 14 permanent Parkmedics + 2 seasonal Parkmedics + 3 permanent paramedics + 2 seasonal paramedics (anyone know the difference between a Parkmedic and a paramedic?) - 1506 cases - zero mutual aid calls - 267 ALS cases - 81 advanced Cardiac Life Support cases - 703 significant BLS cases - 455 minor cases - 30 EMS saves - 13 traumatic fatalities - 9 nontraumatic fatalities - 388 ground transports - 244 aircraft transports (all by helos) - 595 man hous of training - $16,000 spent on EMS training not counting salaries - $165,000 spent on EMS program not counting training costs - Base Hospital is at Flagstaff Medical Center in Flagstaff
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1998 - NPS Morning Reports - primary NPS chopper does medevacs with ranger/medics - 2nd and 3rd backup NPS helos are available (probably call-when-needed craft at Grand Canyon Airport) - South Rim structural fire call gets NPS firefighters and concession firefighters on 7/18/98 - Guardian Helo A + Nellis AFB helo + DPS Flagstaff helo + DPS Kingman helo used for backup - Phantom Ranch has rangers - helo can carry portable repeater to in Canyon incidents - GCNP EMS leader is doing a review of proposed NPS EMS manual - 7/30/98Morning Report has 2 EMS incidents (near drowning and torn esophagus)
5/29/99 NPS Morning Report - multi SARs - primary NPS helo + 2 backup NPS helos + DPS Kingman helo + DPS Flagstaff helo + Classic Lifeguard helo
7/96 Rescue Mag - Phantom Ranch has 2 rangers + ?? - Ken Phillips is the GCNP SAR Specialist
June 1999 Hiring - Visitor Use Assistants = collect fees at entrance stations. Telecom Equip Ops = GS1/4 - $6.79 per hour to $9.33 per hour - secretaries not dispatchers - assigned (?free) shared housing (dorm or trailer)
From 6/14/99 NPS Morning Report - on June 4, South Rim and concession structural firefighters handled a fully involved mobile home fire in the South Rim housing area.
From the 6/14/99 NPS Morning Report - on June 8, a drunk male 25 fell in Tusayan and suffered severe injuries - the County requested that NPS respond as mutual aid - a NPS nurse/paramedic, 2 park medics, plus 1 park EMT cared for the victim before he was medevaced to Flagstaff - a chest tube was inserted in the field.
6/17/99 NPS Morn Rep - NPS helo 210 flew with 2 paramedics and 1 helo manager to call in canyon - flew out near darkness - Guardian Air Ambo helo was used as backup
6/16/99 NPS Morn Report - used helo foam line for the first time instead of water drops - on the Mt Emma fire which is near the Tuweep Ranger Station - lightning caused wildfire being managed to meet management objectives ("let burn" in other words)
7/2/99 NPS Morning Report - multi rescues chronicled - GCNP has 2 helos
6 Aug 99 NPS Morning Report -
99-424 - Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - Follow-up on Fatal Aircraft Crash
On the afternoon of August 3rd, a Cessna 177B took off from Grand Canyon Airport with three people on board. An eyewitness reported that the plane's engine was running at low RPMs and that the plane was flying very slowly. It crashed into a wooded slope a mile outside the park's boundary. Park firefighters and EMS personnel were first on scene. They found that the pilot had been killed on impact, but were able to extricate two trapped Swiss passengers from the twisted wreckage. The male passenger died on scene of severe traumatic injuries despite protracted efforts by park paramedics and ALS personnel. The female passenger was stabilized and flown to Flagstaff Medical Center. During her evacuation, a large dry chemical fire extinguisher exploded, covering all rescuers in a cloud of white dust. Many rescuers suffered respiratory, eye and skin irritations. A decontamination unit was set up; some rescuers were taken to a nearby medical clinic. Ranger Kent Keller was IC for the multi-agency response to the crash. [Kent Delbon, Lead Ranger, South District, GRCA, 8/4]
September 30, 1999 - Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - Multiple EMS Rescues
On September 30th, a 66-year-old woman collapsed suddenly at the park train depot. Rangers found her in cardiac arrest and began CPR. Within minutes, she was defibrillated, intubated and hooked up to intravenous lines. Her pulse was restored and she regained consciousness. She was then flown by park helicopter to a regional hospital, where she recuperated and is reportedly doing well. Rapid defibrillation by rangers and the team effort led by paramedics Phil Mennenoh and K.J. Glover have been cited as primary reasons for her recovery. This success was repeated twice more during the ensuing week. On October 3rd, a 70-year-old man at the Quality Inn called the park's 911 number and reported shortness of breath. While Glover and EMTs were conducting an initial assessment, he stopped breathing and became pulseless. Both were restored through CPR and advanced life support measures. The man was flown to the hospital in Flagstaff and admitted to intensive care. On the 4th, Mennenoh and park medic Brian Lakes resuscitated a 72-year-old man with a life-threatening heart arrhythmia. His heart was externally paced and pulse and blood pressure were restored. He was also flown to Flagstaff Medical Center. All three cases involved resuscitation of patients who were either clinically dead or near death. [Sherrie Collins, Chief, Branch of Emergency Services, GRCA, 10/27]
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Year 2000 Info
From ?1 April 2000 Morning Report - INCIDENTS - 00-113 - Grand Canyon (AZ) - Structural Fire Park dispatch received a call from an employee at 1 p.m. on March 28th, 2000 reporting blue-gray smoke issuing from a historic home undergoing rehabilitation. First units were on scene within two minutes and found that the front half of the three-bedroom was fully engulfed in flames. Two park and concession fire engines responded along with rescue and ambulance units; a mutual aid response from the community of Tusayan was also requested. Although the fire was contained within 20 minutes, firefighters had to contend with several hazards. The painting contractor initially reported there were several 25-pound propane cylinders in the structure. These were fueling heaters used to accelerate the drying of oil-based latex wall paint and were in the same room with containers of paint thinner and other cleaning chemicals. Responding personnel could hear the venting of propane, but it was only after the active fire was suppressed that the source was identified as three 100-pound cylinders, all of which were charred.
The rehabilitation of the structure was originally funded at $150,000. The park is now reviewing the contractor's responsibility for starting the project over and their liability for replacing PPE contaminated by large amounts of oil-based latex paint. Final determination on the cause of the fire is pending. [Patrick Hattaway, Acting Chief, Branch of Operations, GRCA, 3/29]
Tuweep on the North Rim has a emergency satellite phone for reporting emergencies.
22 August 2000 - lightning hits near the El Tovar Hotel - 3 ambulances are used to transport 7 injured people to the Park Clinic - all were released after treatment - rangers were assisted by Guardian Ambulance, Amfac Fire, and Amfac Security (Amfac must be the new name for the Harvey Concessioner/Hotel Operator)
00-608 - Grand Canyon NP (AZ) - Assist: Airplane Crash with Injuries - A single-engine Cessna 207 operated by Westwind Aviation made a crash landing in the Kaibab National Forest southeast of the park on the afternoon of September 23rd, 2000. Park wildland fire personnel, a Guardian Medical Transport ambulance, the park's ambulance, and the park helicopter responded. The four occupants of the Cessna suffered relatively minor injuries and were taken by ambulance to Flagstaff Medical Center. The incident coincided with a single-vehicle rollover accident in the park; the two victims were also taken to the center. Ken Phillips was IC. [Mat Vandzura, GRCA, 9/25]
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Last Updated - 26Aug00 - lightning - 30Sept00 - plane crash