For the period of October 16, 2009 until October 22, 2009, the City of Niagara Falls Fire Department responded to 113 incidents.
Friday October 16 – Just after 3:30 AM fire units from LaSalle area stations were called to the Grand Island Bridges to assist New York State Police. Police units were on the scene at the top of the North Bridge with a distraught individual who was threatening to jump from the bridge into the upper Niagara River. Fire units staged at the foot of the bridge and began to develop a rescue plan should the individual actual jump into the swift moving river. Fortunately after a period of time the State Police were able to coach the individual to safety and the incident was resolved.
Saturday October 17 – Fire units from the downtown stations were alerted to respond to a commercial building in the 300 block of Prospect Street at 1:43 PM. The initial calls reported that natural gas had been detected inside the structure. Firefighters were able to secure the leak and ventilated the area to remove the gas.
Sunday October 18 – At 1:07 PM smoke and the odor of burning plastics began to fill the 8200 block of Niagara Falls Blvd. Falls firefighters responded to find a dumpster fully involved in fire. Hoselines were quickly deployed and the bulk of the fire was quickly knocked down.
Monday October 19 – Early Monday evening another outside fire was reported at a commercial building in the 8400 block of Niagara Falls Blvd. LaSalle area fire units arrived and the fire was quickly controlled and extinguished.
Thursday October 22 – The 1600 block of Weston Avenue was the scene of a construction accident that required the attention of Falls firefighters. At 10:21 AM fire units were dispatched for an unknown incident and arrived to find a construction worker suffering from injuries to his lower extremities. The worker was apparently looking down into the construction hole when a coworker who was operating a motorized vehicle ran over the man. The injured party was transported to Memorial Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.
Next Saturday is Halloween and the streets of Niagara Falls will be filled with ghosts and goblins. Costumes should be highly visible and the vision of the wearer should not be obscured. Motor vehicle operators should use extreme caution and be aware that trick-or- treaters may dart from between cars and out of the shadows. Parents should make sure that during the evening flashlights be used to improve visibility. All candy should be inspected for foreign objects prior to being consumed.
