City Fire

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and as city firefighters do annually, they are donning special T-shirts while on duty to recognize the fight against breast cancer.

Pictured with six firefighters today are Toni Funke and Kristen Gonter, breast cancer survivors.

From left are Capt. Mark Mikolajczyk, Chuck Hammon, Adam Polumbo, Nathan Kinne, Jeff Whitcomb and David Adams.

The IAFF Local 896 will make a donation to a breast cancer organization this month.

Press release:

The City of Batavia Fire Department together with the Fire Fighters Union – IAFF Local 896 are sponsoring the 2ndAnnual Fire Prevention Week Poster Contest.  This poster contest is open to students from grades 1 – 5. “Our hope is to get the children to discuss fire safety with their teachers and fellow students, as well as parents and guardians.” 

This poster contest can be a take home project, individual class project or an art class project.  Information has been distributed to City schools, but we wanted to include any City area home schooled children as well. 

“Our first year doing the contest was met with a great response.  We are hoping to grow this great opportunity this year.  The value is that the kids and adults get exposure to fire safety and safe practices, helping to reduce injury and death and change some habits.  We encourage all eligible students to participate.”

The 2014 Fire Prevention Week (October 5-15) theme is “Working Smoke Alarms Save Lives, Test Yours Every Month.”  Ideas and more information can be found at the Fire Prevention Week website www.FPW.org

Any posters wishing to be entered need to be at the Fire Station located at 18 Evans Street in Batavia no later thanThursday, October 9, 2014 at 4pm.  Schools/groups/families may contact us via phone or email to arrange in school pick up of posters. 

Posters are to be drawn horizontally on white paper, 8 ½” x 11”.  The back of the poster must contain the students name & phone number, school & grade, and teacher’s name.

Judging of the posters will take place between October 10th – 12th.  The winner of each group will receive a ride to school on a City Fire Engine, and be invited to a special awards luncheon with their family held at the fire station in late October.  2nd and 3rd place finishers in each group will also be invited to the fire station awards luncheon.

The best of luck to the students!  Full rules are available at the City of Batavia Fire Department at 18 Evans Street in Batavia or by contacting us via phone and/or email.

If you've noticed some fire hydrants bagged with "not in service" messages in the city, Fire Chief Jim Maxwell said it's not something local residents need to be overly concerned about.

"Hydrants are spaced not to exceed a maximum of 500 feet," Maxwell said. "This allows for a fire hydrant to be readily accessible in either direction in the event of an emergency."

Currently, of the 746 hydrants in the city, seven are currently out of service.

Maxwell explained that hydrants are mechanical devices, which means they are subject to breakdowns.

Firefighters regularly test hydrants to ensure they are working properly. If they're not working, the bags being used help firefighters quickly identify an out-of-service hydrant during an emergency so they can quickly locate another one to use.

Of the seven hydrants out of service, one has been out of service since 2011, one since 2012, three since 2013, and two were taken out of service this year.

Out-of-service hydrants need to be replaced with new equipment. Each hydrant costs $2,200.

City workers, from the Bureau of Water and Wastewater, do the replacement work on a time-available basis.

The hydrants could be replaced more quickly if a contractor was hired, Maxwell said, but that drives the cost up to $7,500 per hydrant.

Waiting for available time for city workers to do the work will save taxpayers about $37,100 to replace the current out-of-service hydrants, Maxwell said.

City firefighters were on the hill of South Jackson Street, near the railroad tracks, this morning for training with rope rescue techniques.

Press release:

On Saturday, Aug. 16, the City of Batavia Fire Department will be hosting a free child safety seat check event. This event will be held in conjunction with Summer in the City. The check site will be at Fire Headquarters on Evans Street from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Nationally certified technicians will ensure child safety seats are installed correctly and also be available to answer any questions parents/caregivers have about child passenger safety restraints.

Did you know three out of four kids are not as secure in the car as they should be because their car seats are not being used correctly? Using the correct restraints reduces infants’ and toddlers’ chances for fatal injury by 71 percent and 54 percent in passenger cars respectively.

Stop down to the free Summer in the City child safety seat check event.

An experienced firefighter joined the City Fire Department today. Zach Gowanloch spent two-and-half years with Lockport before falling victim to a budget ax. Recently married and a new father, Gowanloch is also EMT trained.

"I came down, met with the chief, liked what I saw, was very impressed, met with a couple of the guys," Gowanloch said when asked about why he applied for the job. "It just seemed like a nice place to work."

Gowanloch and his wife are looking for a new home in Batavia.

On July 10 the City of Batavia Firefighters Local 896 will hold its first Helmet Raffle benefiting "Firefighters for Operation Warm." The raffle will be at Tully's restaurant on East Main Street at about 9 p.m.

Local 896 is raffling off a brand-new N6A Sam Houston structural fire helmet (winner picks color, style and custom leather front).

The 2nd place prize is a $75 gift certificate to "The Fire Store" and 3rd-place prize is $50 to "The Fire Store."

Tickets are a $10 donation with all proceeds benefiting "Firefighters for Operation Warm," which provides brand-new 100-percent American-made winter coats to children in the City of Batavia. This is the second year City firefighters are partnering with Operation Warm to provide the gift of warmth to children in our community.

In addition to the raffle, Tully's is donating 10 percent of its receipts on July 10 to the coat charity (only at the Batavia location), provided that the customer presents a special coupon at the time of check out.

For raffle tickets and Tully's special coupons, contact Adam Palumbo at apalumbo@batavianewyork.com. Visit <http://www.operationwarm.org/Batavia> for more information and to donate.

Today was the day to fill the boot and a lot of people did. City firefighters, members of IAFF Local 896, were positioned on Ellicott, Main, and Court streets this morning to collect donations from passing motorists as a fundraiser for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

It was another banner year for the firefighters with a new record amount of $9,635.39, according to Local President Greg Ireland.

Above, Adam Palumbo collects a donation.

Jeff Stevens collects a donation.

Firefighter Tim Stengel collects a donation.

Press release:

The City of Batavia Fire Chief Jim Maxwell has been selected by the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs (NYSAFC) as the 2014 Career Fire Chief of the Year. Chief Maxwell received this award at the NYSAFC annual conference held on June 12th.

Chief Maxwell started working for the City in August 2010 as a 23-year veteran of the Kodak Fire Department (KFD) Eastman Kodak Company. During his career with the Kodak Fire Department, he is credited as serving as a HazMat resource tech, senior firefighter/EMT, lieutenant, captain and battalion chief. Chief Maxwell has also been a volunteer firefighter with Lakeshore Fire Department and North Greece Fire Department for more than 30 years.

City Manager Jason Molino said, "Chief Maxwell is an exemplary leader who has always been focused on putting needs of the City of Batavia residents above all else. He is forever committed to making the Batavia Fire Department the best it can be, and continues to dedicate himself to the men and women he serves with. It has been an absolute privilege working with such a professional and accomplished leader like Jim, and I congratulate him on being honored with this award."

This award is presented to association members for demonstration of exemplary leadership that has not only benefited an individual fire department, but also the emergency services of New York State. Honorees are chosen each year based upon their exemplary leadership, innovation, professional development, integrity, service to the public, and contributions to the fire service as a whole.

The annual "Fill the Boot" campaign comes to Batavia again Friday, June 20.

Off-duty City firefighters, members of IAFF Local 896, will position themselves on Ellicott, Court and Main and collect spare changes and donations from passing drivers.

This years cochairs for the event are Jeff Stevens, left, and Greg Ireland.

City firefighters have been participating in the fundraising event for MDA for 20 years.

Last year, they helped raised $8,500, which was a new record in donations locally.

Money collected benefits the children who are diagnosed with any of the more than 40 neuromuscular diseases that fall under the MDA umbrella, including ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Donations cover everything from wheelchairs to braces, physical therapy sessions to summer camps for those afflicted.

The City of Batavia has received two significant awards, City Manager Jason Molino announced at a press conference held at the Fire Hall this afternoon.

The city is receiving a Strategic leadership & Governance Program Excellence Award from the International City/County Managers Association, and Firefighter Chuck Hammon is being honored by NYS Child Safety Advisory Board with a Shining Star Award for his efforts to increase the number of child safety seats installed in the city.

The ICMA will recognize the City of Batavia at its 100th annual conference in Charlotte, N.C., in September.

The award recognizes the creation and implementation of the city's strategic plan.

"With input from the community and the hard work of City Council and staff, we have been able to create an effective planning process that has demonstrated real results in efficient operations and meeting the service needs of our residents," Molino said. "Though our continued efforts to improve our operations, make sound decisions and strong investments, the city is being recognized for making a meaningful impact for our residents, businesses and visitors alike."

Hammon was recognized because over the past three years, he's taken the city's child safety seat program from almost nothing -- only two trained installation technicians -- to a program with 18 technicians and more than 150 installations and inspections a year. Batavia has one of the most active fire stations for child safety seats in WNY now, Molino said.

A group of preschoolers from the YMCA got a chance to tour city fire's headquarters this morning. The kids got to spray a fire hose and learn about fire safety and look at all the equipment on the fire trucks.

City Firefighter Mike Dorgan helps Reese Koukides, 3 1/2, into her new car seat at a child car seat safety inspection and installation event in the City Centre Parking lot this morning. The event was sponsored by Tompkins Insurance.

City firefighters were at Dewitt Recreation Area today for a round of ice and cold water rescue training.

Lt. Bob Fix, a certified ice and cold water rescue instructor, conducted the class.

The purpose of the course is to provide fire personnel with the skills and knowledge required to safely and effectively respond to incidents on our through ice.

There are 325 acres of open water within city limits. The Tonawanda Creek runs for 2.79 miles through the city.

Upon completion of the training, participants will be certified in ice rescue awareness, operations and technician levels for three years.

A seagull was more interested in the open water as a possible fishing hole than rescue training.

The chance for city firefighters to train and practice in an actual structure in the city is invaluable to the department, Chief Jim Maxwell said today while discussing an opportunity to use to houses on West Main Street this week.

Since the houses are slated for demolition, firefighters can cut, chop and smoke up the place ("cold smoke," as it's called, since it's not heat generated).

"From the new firefighter to the 20-year veteran, it's very valuable," Maxwell said. "It's a controlled situation, but they get to go in and practice what they would do in a normal fire."

The houses are being provided to the department for training by the owners of Castilone Chrysler, Steve Castilone and Greg Strauss, and are located at 310 and 312 W. Main St., Batavia.

Castilone and Strauss are expanding their dealership (rather than move it out of the city) and they acquired the neighboring properties for that purpose.

Maxwell said having structures in the city for training really cuts down on overtime. Rather than requiring firefighters to come in during typical off-duty hours and train at the Fire Training Center on Bank Street Road, on-duty firefighters can train in the city so they're still available for calls as needed.

"We're able to get all of the platoons through without getting into an overtime situation, so it's very valuable to use," Maxwell said.

Training includes ventilation (cutting holes in the roofs), search and rescue (artificial smoke is generated). There will be more training over the next few days, weather permitting, and it will be squeezed in with hazmat training taking place this week at the fire station.

There won't, however, be any live fire training at the two houses, Maxwell said. It's just too risky to do in the city.

Photos submitted by Frank Capuano

Spock had his tri-corder, a device at his fingertips that could provide him with information quickly in any emergency situation.

City of Batavia firefighters now have an iPad and as the saying goes, "there's an app for that."

In this case, there's apps that can map their calls and tell firefighters where all the hydrants are in a neighborhood, and an app that tells them how the batteries are configured in hybrid cars, and an app to help them deal with hazmat situations.

Last week, Lt. Bob Fix installed a special iPad in Engine 11 as part of a pilot project to see if such a device can assist firefighters in emergency situation.

The iPad uses an app called Active911 that ties in with the county's emergency dispatch center (soon to be replaced by a new app tied into the new communications system). When City fire receives an alarm, all the details go to Active911 and the scene commander can have at his fingertips all of the information about which firefighters are responding (especially in a multiple alarm situation) and help him position trucks based on the location of hydrants.

The hybrid car app is useful in auto accidents, since hybrids have both areas that are reinforced and too hard to cut through and places pulsing with high voltage that a firefighter wouldn't want to cut. With the iPad, a commander can punch in make and model and get a copy of the schematics for the car.

The hazmat app, created by the Federal Government, lists 438 chemicals that are potentially hazardous. If a firefighter doesn't know the name of a chemical, he can punch in the characteristics and the app will help him identify the chemical. The app uses wind speed and direction to map an evacuation area and provides information on how to fight any related fires and how to treat any victims with possible exposure to the chemical.

Fix said if the trial goes well, iPads will be installed in the department's other emergency vehicles.

Four-year-old Aubrey was thrilled to have Lt. Bob Fix, Batavia FD, hoist her into the seat of Ladder 15 during a visit by the fire department to Imagination Station, the day care and preschool on Union Avenue.

City fire hosted a demonstration today at Dewitt Recreation Area of a rescue vehicle designed to handle snow, ice and open water to rescue people who might be stranded in dangerous conditions.

The vehicle is made of a snowmobile and a foam-filled platform that can keep it floating on water. Propulsion is created by the snowmobile's chain drive.

"It gives stability and a safety factor to firefighters that simply doesn't exist in any other vehicle," said Roger Bailey, CEO of WISE Technology, which is based in New Hampshire. 

This was the first demonstration of the vehicle in WNY.

The demonstration was set up by Bob Valvo of LVA Sales, a manufacturers' rep company with offices on Harverster Avenue.

The city has no immediate plans to purchase the vehicle.

Le Roy fire was also on hand for the demo.

Video by Alecia Kaus, Video News Service.

City firefighters gave out 25 brand-new, American-made coats to children at the Agri-Business Child Development Center on Brooklyn Avenue yesterday. This is the first year City fire participated in this national program, which is part of Operation Warm and Firefighters Coats for Kids.

Information and photos submitted by Adam Palumbo.

City firefighters got their hands on new extrication tools tonight that were acquired with a FEMA grant the department received in January.

The tools are manufactured by Holmatro and include a cutter, a spreader and two rams along with rocker panel support.

The grant was for $60,000 and the money as also used to purchase struts for building and vehicle supports.

Tonight's training was conducted by Tim Norris, a rep for Holmatro.

Capt. Craig Williams said the department reviewed equipment from six different companies and invited four of them in for a head-to-head competition.

What he likes about the Holmatro products, he said, is the tools are the only one on the market that cut and spread in three stages. When there's no pressure on the blades, they move easily. As they feel pressure, they clap down harder, and in the third stage, when extra pressure is needed to finish the cut, the tool delivers maximum pressure.

Also, Williams said, the tools can be hot swapped from their hydraulic lines, meaning the line doesn't need to be drained of pressure before trading out a tool for a particular job.

Shifts of firefighters will be training with the new tools over the next few days.

Holmatro rep Tim Norris, center, conducting training.