A Las Vegas-area fire chief who warned lawmakers months before a 2017 mass shooting at a music festival that Nevada should bolster its emergency management planning says he wants to bypass state lawmakers to get changes made.

Six months before the Oct. 1, 2017, shooting on the Las Vegas Strip that killed 58 and left hundreds injured, Clark County Fire Department Chief Greg Cassell testified before state legislators in favor of a bill that would have required more coordination of emergency medical resources ahead of such a large event.

Investigators say gunman Stephen Paddock acted alone when he fired from a high-rise suite in the Mandalay Bay casino-resort into the crowd of 22,000 at the Route 91 Harvest festival. The FBI concluded Paddock sought notoriety in the attack but said it found no “single or clear motivating factor” to explain why he opened fire on the concert.

Cassell said Friday that had the legislation passed, the fire department would likely have had a fire incident commander on the scene before the shooting.

Having a fire incident commander at the event could have improved communication and made for a cleaner response plan, Cassell said.

Months before the event, he told lawmakers the effort would avoid delays in ordering and directing emergency help.

The legislation he supported in 2017 passed the Assembly unanimously but failed to make it out of the Senate. It’s unclear why the bill failed to pass, and Cassell said he never received a clear answer on why the bill did not cross the finish line. Generally, he said, changes at the statehouse can get bogged down by the number of people and interests involved.

This year, he is instead pushing for Clark County to make changes requiring events of a certain size to have fire personnel on scene and in unified command with police.

While police and ambulance services were on-duty at the concert and event organizers obtained a required fire department permit and inspection, they were not required to and did not have any on-duty fire personnel at the concert.

A report released by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in August last year also recommended the change and revealed that some of the firefighters responding to the shooting were unaware that the festival was occurring and had to quickly set up a command when they encountered the chaotic aftermath.

The chaos was something Cassell warned lawmakers about during a March 2017 hearing on the bill.

“If we are waiting for a battalion chief to respond to an event from their station or another location, we have to wait for calls to take place, dispatching, routing and driving through traffic,” Cassell said, according to the committee minutes.

“It terrifies me because we are a resort community, and we have to be prepared on the front end with the right people in the right spot at the right time to mitigate these things as fast as we can,” he testified.

Cassell said Friday that having fire personnel at the country music festival would have made a difference. But he could not quantify its effect and did not suggest lives were lost as a consequence.

While Cassell is pushing for changes at the local level, it’s unclear if Nevada lawmakers will follow suit.

Assemblyman Michael Sprinkle, D-Sparks, sponsored the 2017 legislation that Cassell supported. Sprinkle declined to comment this week about why his earlier bill failed and whether he would revive the legislation.

The state Division of Emergency Management has requested a handful of bills addressing emergency resources and procedures, including a measure to quickly license out-of-state doctors to practice in the state during a disaster, something then-Gov. Brian Sandoval allowed under an executive order after the shooting.

It was not clear Friday how many of the measures were spurred by the 2017 shooting. Messages seeking comment from Division of Emergency Management spokeswoman Gail Powell were not immediately returned.

iHeartMedia Las Vegas today announced plans to move their regional office to downtown. The new location at 425 Fremont Street, Suite 220, in Las Vegas is scheduled to open in August 2019.

The new iHeartMedia Las Vegas headquarters is part of iHeartMedia’s new partnership with Fremont Street Experience to revitalize and assist in the growth of downtown Las Vegas.

For the past few months, iHeartMedia Las Vegas has designed a brand-new state-of-the-art facility to house their iconic brands and franchises – both broadcast and digital – including Sunny 106.5, 93.1 The Mountain, 95.5 The Bull and Real 103.9. The studios will feature cutting-edge design elements as well as digitally-advanced technology and resources for talent and programmers that will help them connect even faster and easier with listeners delivering even more great content to the Las Vegas community.

“I am beyond excited to welcome iHeartMedia to downtown Las Vegas,” said Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman, Mayor of Las Vegas. “Combining the world-renowned brands of the Fremont Street Experience and iHeartMedia can only add to the growing energy that makes downtown Las Vegas a must visit location for visitors and residents alike.”

“We’re excited to move our iHeartMedia Las Vegas team to our new headquarters in downtown Las Vegas,” said Glynn Alan, Region President for iHeartMedia Las Vegas. “We’ve specifically designed this new location to invoke collaboration and raise awareness within the downtown area of Las Vegas while embodying the iHeartMedia brand.”

iHeartMedia Las Vegas’ partnership with Fremont Street Experience will also include co-promotions of current downtown concerts and events, with additional opportunities to co-produce and create new events and concerts to drive awareness and visitation to the area. iHeartRadio in-studio guests and musical acts can also perform on one of Fremont Street Experience’s three stages in downtown Las Vegas.

“Fremont Street Experience is thrilled to have one of the top media companies and brands in the world as a neighbor and partner,” said Patrick Hughes, CEO and President of Fremont Street Experience. “The opportunity to create and deliver amazing concerts and events is amplified when combining iHeart’s tremendous media and distribution platforms with Fremont Street Experience’s world-class entertainment offerings.”

A worker Otis Tanner, 43 a former worker associated with Shade Tree , with a significant criminal history, kidnapped and raped a woman staying at the shelter.

According to the report, when the woman was removed from the Shelter, and then was told by the employee that she could stay at his house.

When she arrived, she was held hostage and forced to perform sexual acts on the worker – and was told she would be forced into prostitution.  She escaped the situation and ran back the shelter, where she informed employed what had happened and charges were filed.

Las Vegas Metro has confirmed he has been arrested, and released on $100,000 bond.

Shade Tree Released the Following Statement:

A previous resident of The Shade Tree disclosed to shelter staff in July of 2018 that she had been sexually assaulted at a location outside of The Shade Tree property. Immediately, staff sent the resident for medical attention and worked closely and cooperatively with authorities as they began their investigation.

The Shade Tree previously worked with an agency, ReEmployAbility, that places workers in light-duty positions at various non-profits in Las Vegas while they are recovering from workplace injuries.

The suspect had been placed by ReEmployAbility at The Shade Tree and worked for 25 hours over the course of three days in July 2018. He was not a volunteer at The Shade Tree. The assault did not take place on The Shade Tree property.

Upon learning of the assault, The Shade Tree severed all ties with ReEmployAbility and ceased all relationships with worker placement agencies, a policy still in effect now and moving forward.

Those who wish to volunteer at The Shade Tree are required to go through an extensive screening process that includes passing background checks, attending in-depth training and orientation before being allowed to volunteer at the shelter.

The alleged victim is no longer a resident of The Shade Tree and left the shelter in August, 2018. The Shade Tree will continue to cooperate with authorities as needed.