For the period of Friday August 18, 2008 to Thursday August 14, 2008 the Niagara Falls Fire Department responded to 118 calls for assistance.
Friday August 8 – An electric fan was the apparent cause of an early evening fire in the 500 block of 19th Street. At 7:51 PM Firefighters from Platoon One responded to a report of smoke coming from a home and arrived to find flames shooting from the rear of the structure. While members of the Engine Company deployed hoselines through the front door, members of the Truck crew simultaneously searched the structure and performed ventilation. The fire was quickly brought under control but not before it caused significant fire damage to the room of origin and smoke damage to the remainder of the structure.
Saturday August 9 - The members of Platoon One found themselves responding to the second serious fire of the shift when at 4:18 AM they were dispatched for a structure fire in the area of Niagara Street and Seventh Street. Engine 4 arrived on the scene and reported that flames were “shooting across the alley” from a two story frame structure. The building was the scene of a serious fire about two years ago and firefighters were concerned about the integrity and structural condition of the building. Initial operations focused on exterior operations until firefighters were able to safely enter the structure. This was the first of three incidents that the department responded to between 4:18 and 4:35 AM. Due to the near simultaneous incidents and the lack of available fire and EMS units in the city, assistance from Niagara County was requested to ensure that the residents of the city were protected.
Monday August 11 - Just before 2 PM workers at the city yard on New Road noticed a helicopter flying extremely low in the area of the Porter Rd and the rail tracks. The helicopter disappeared from sight and not knowing if it had crashed landed or had some mechanical issue, initiated an emergency call. Both fire and police units scoured the area and found that a Border Patrol helicopter had landed in a field adjacent to the railroad tracks in the area and were able to determine that no emergency existed.
Tuesday August 12 – Natural Gas filled the downtown air when a construction project struck a high pressure gas line in the area of Duggan and Fourth. Fire units from 10th Street arrived and immediately set about establishing a perimeter around the break. Hoselines were deployed in the event that there was an accidental ignition of gas and nearby buildings were monitored. Fire crews stood by while National Fuel employees attempted to stop the flow of gas.
Tuesday August 12 – Incidents involving vehicles kept the members of Platoon Four busy Tuesday afternoon. The 1800 block of Cleveland Avenue was the location of an incident that involved not only a vehicle crash but also a broken utility pole, downed wires, a broken fire hydrant, damage to a house, and sent two people to the hospital. Representatives from the phone company, National Grid, the Water Board, as well as Time Warner responded to restore services to affected customers while firefighter treated the injured parties. A little more then an hour after this crash, another crash was reported in the 2200 block of Pine Avenue. This multi vehicle crash resulted in injuries to four people with three of them being transported to local hospitals. In between these two incidents, fire units responded to a downtown hotel for a vehicle with a ruptured fuel tank. Firefighters used “speedy dry” to not only absorb the spilled fuel but to also stop it from continuing to flow into the sewers.
Wednesday August 13 – Fire units were dispatched at 1 PM to assist in locating a victim that reportedly fell into the lower Niagara River. Initial calls indicated that witnesses reported seeing someone in the river somewhere between Whirlpool State Park and Devils Hole. City fire units were sent to each location and were joined in this massive rescue operation by numerous other response agencies. The victim, who was part of a large group, was reported to have been hiking in the lower gorge when she slipped into the water and was carried downstream. Firefighters along with State Parks Police searched the shoreline and were able to locate the group of youngsters and assisted them in getting to the top of the Vanderbilt steps. Thunder, lightning, and rain began to fill the afternoon sky and the decision was made to use fire apparatus to transport the children back to Whirlpool Park. The search for the missing victim continued well into the evening with numerous agencies using searchers on foot, boats, as well as helicopters using sophisticated equipment.
Thursday August 14 – At 7:37 PM the members of Platoon Two once again found themselves responding to the 400 block of Seventh Street for a reported structure fire. Arriving on the scene, fire units found a vacant structure with an obvious fire in the rear of the building. Fire was rapidly spreading up the outside of the structure from a pile of debris on the exterior of the building that was set on fire. Aggressive hoseline deployment in conjunction with interior crews checking for extension enabled firefighters to control the fire before it was able to consume the building. This is the fourth suspicious fire that has occurred in this area in the last two weeks. With many of the building in the area being vacant they are inviting targets for arsonist and any fire may potentially spread to a nearby occupied building. Residents are asked to be vigilant and report any suspicious behavior to either the fire department or the police department.
Believe it or not the summer will soon be coming to an end and once again people will begin using their heat. Each year the Niagara Falls Fire Department responds to many incidents that are caused by faulty heating systems. Now is the time to get your system serviced by a qualified contractor to make sure that it is operating safely and at peak efficiency.
