MARK WAITE / PVT Nye County Sheriff Tony DeMeo, left, and Lawrence Daggett, of Alamo Fireworks, address Nye County commissioners Tuesday. Advertisement

LATHROP WELLS -- A fireworks store was approved here after county commissioners Tuesday overcame concerns regarding fire safety.

Alamo Fireworks Inc. requested a conditional use permit to sell fireworks on a five-acre tract at Highway 95 and Highway 373, just north of Nevada Joe's restaurant.

The discussion also laid bare county uncertainty over the impact of assuming state fire marshal inspections, enacted with a new ordinance approved last month.

Sheriff Tony DeMeo said the county's representative for the state fire marshal's office had concerns over a fireworks store a few hundred feet from a gas station and near gate 510 to the Nevada Test Site and Yucca Mountain.

County Commissioner Butch Borasky had questions about what fire department would respond to a blaze at that location.

"They are 200 feet from a gas station. That would set off an alarm in my head," Borasky said. He said fireworks stores in Pahrump are close to other buildings, but they have fire hydrants in front.

Jan Cameron, chairwoman of the Amargosa Valley Town Board, said the owners worked closely with her fire department before considering a start-up.

"They made very sure the way they construct this building is not going to be a problem. They also made it very clear they are putting safety measures in place," Cameron said.

She added the gas station nearby hasn't been in operation for six years.

Nye County Manager Ron Williams noted the takeover of fire marshal inspections by Charles Abbott and Associates has meant "there was a little confusion over who inspects what and who is holding whom to what requirements."

Lawrence Daggett, representing Alamo Fireworks, said his company will use a 300,000-gallon water tank across Highway 95 for fire prevention. Daggett confirmed his understanding that firefighters would give priority to any nearby buildings if the fireworks shop caught fire.

Assistant Sheriff Johanna Cody said the approval of the conditional use permit would only be valid for one year, adding it could take six months for the owners of the fireworks store to secure their fire inspection permit.