For the period of Friday December 26, 2008 to Thursday January 1, 2009 the Niagara Falls Fire Department responded to 124 calls for assistance.
Saturday December 27 - The last weekend of the year saw the Falls firefighters responding to a number of incidents related to utilities. The strong winds caused many power lines to fall and due to the numerous power fluctuations some homes experienced electrical fires. A home in the 2000 block of LaSalle Avenue experienced a short in their electrical panel which damaged the internal wiring of the home. The actual damage was confined to the electrical service of the home and both the Inspections Department as well as National grid was called to the scene.
Sunday December 28 - The wild windy weather continued on Sunday. The early morning hours challenged not only the Fire Department, but other city departments as well. The Giacomo (Old United Office Building) sustained significant damaged to the lower floor when a large window was blown out of the building. Numerous power lines were down throughout the city with a large section of LaSalle being without power when the 8700 block of Mang Avenue was the scene of a downed wire emergency.
Wednesday December 31 – The last incident of the year was a reported automobile fire in the 300 block of 4th Street. The rear seat of the passenger compartment sustained fire damage when an apparent electrical short started a fire under the seat. The vehicle sustained approximately 500 dollars in damage before firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze.
Thursday January 1 – Between Midnight and 8 AM the fire department responded to 7 calls for assistance with the most serious being a reported house fire with people trapped. At 3AM dispatchers received a call indicating that a house was on fire in the 600 block of Tronolone Place. Subsequent calls indicated that at least 2 individuals were trapped in the home and were unable to escape. Arriving officers of the NFPD attempted to gain entry and get the trapped occupants out but due to the smoke conditions were unable to enter the second floor apartment. Fire units arrived on the scene and without the protection of a hoseline entered the apartment to search for the victims. Large amounts of thick smoke filled the apartment as the victims were located and removed from danger. The fire involved a chair and some other combustible material and was quickly brought under control. Both fire victims were transported to Memorial Medical Center where they were stabilized and transferred to ECMC for more specialized care. The fire is considered to be accidental and appears to have started when a candle was left burning and ignited the nearby combustibles.
2008 was a record year for responses for the NFFD. Residents and visitors requested assistance a total of 5,888 times. Despite responding to more incidents then ever, not one resident of the city lost their life due to fire in 2008. Unfortunately some did suffer serious injury and millions of dollars in damage did occur due to fire. Residents are again reminded that the best way to increase their chance of surviving a fire is to have a properly installed and working smoke detector on each level of their home.
