Batavia City Fire Department

Would this be used year-round or seasonally? 
"Initially, it will be set up for spring to fall; however, as we progress, we will open more options to train in year-round," Graham said.

In a news release, he said that "as the Chief of the City of Batavia Fire Department, I have analyzed our costs and training practices along with command staff and have determined that the City can conduct more training at a lower cost by having training space located within the City.

"Currently, the City of Batavia Fire Department conducts six training events annually at the Genesee County Fire Training Center, located outside the City of Batavia," he said. "When conducting training, off-duty personnel report to the training center on their scheduled days off, while our first-due engine (first responding vehicle) and ladder truck and crew must remain in the City.

"City Fire's primary responsibility is to ensure the safety of the City of Batavia, and therefore, we must have an on-duty shift present to guarantee a swift and effective response. Consequently, the city incurs overtime costs to accommodate training on these six occasions. Additionally, due to family obligations and other concerns, personnel are not always able to attend training during their time off, which can lead to additional strain on our members and cost to the City," he said. "The new training center will not be a live-fire training area, meaning no actual fires will be burned at the location. Modern technology allows us to use smoke machines that simulate low-visibility conditions encountered by our firefighters.

"This simulated smoke is non-toxic and dissipates quickly once it exits the structure. We will also use the facility for vehicle extrication training, employing vehicles that have been drained of all fluids, with batteries and hydraulic pistons removed. This ensures that there are no environmental hazards.

"The City does not use firefighting foam containing Perfluoroctane Sulfonate (PFOS). The state restricts its use to extreme life-or-death situations, and the associated costs make its use impractical for training. Instead, alternatives such as dish soap will be used when necessary."

Is maintenance of the grounds/containers required, and if so, how much do you expect?
"This will be extremely low maintenance with general clean up around the grounds," he said.

How many times do you expect to have personnel out there in training mode, in addition to the six times at the other county training site?
"Again, this is just the start, as we add to it and create ways to train on different disciplines, we will be out there more frequently," he said.

Have you calculated the cost savings in overtime?
"I do not have a hard number. We open the annual training at the FTC to all off-duty members on these dates. Any given time, we have 27 firefighters off duty, so there could be anywhere from a handful to in the 20s," he said. "Each training session is generally around four hours. Additionally, we occasionally have to send members out of the area for more specific training that we cannot facilitate currently."

The fire department is on City Council's agenda for the next budget discussion set for 5 p.m. Monday Tuesday at City Hall.

Photos submitted by Batavia City Fire Department

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Press Release:

The City of Batavia Fire Department is proud to announce the winners of our 10th Annual Fire Prevention Coloring Contest. With over 400 entries from Batavia Schools, this contest was very difficult to judge.

Congratulations to the following winners:

Grade K-1:

First Place- Isabelle Herdlien - 1st Grade Jackson Elementary, Miss Wahr

Second Place- Massiah Ayala - Kindergarten St. Josephs Regional School, Mrs. Case

Third Place - Ada McCracken - 1st Grade Jackson Primary, Mrs. Harloff

Grades 2-3:

First Place- Amara-Lee Thomas - 3rd Grade John Kennedy, Mr. Coke

Second Place- Cecilia Dejaneiro - 2nd Grade John Kennedy School- Ms. Wirth

Third Place- Payton Ford - 3rd Grade St. Joseph's School- Ms. Dumuhosky

Grades 4-5:

First Place- Josie Varland - 4th Grade St Paul Lutheran School, Ms. Austin

Second Place- Maiya Holman - 5th Grade Batavia Middle School, Mrs. Penepent

Third Place - Blessing Brobey - 5th Grade Batavia Middle School, Mrs. Consagra

An awards luncheon will be held Saturday, October 26, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the City of Batavia Fire Station located at 18 Evans St. for all 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. The 1st place winner of each group will receive a ride to school on a City of Batavia Fire Engine. Congratulations to all the winners!

Press Release:

The City of Batavia Fire Department has received its updated Insurance Services Office Public Protection Classification (PPC).

ISO works to classify all fire departments and fire districts on a scale of 1 to 10 with Class 1 being the best. Those classifications are used by insurance companies to help determine rates. The better the classification, the better the insurance rate. 

ISO’s Public Protection Classification Program (PPC) plays an important role in the underwriting process at insurance companies. In fact, most U.S. insurers – including the largest ones – use PPC information as part of their decision-making when deciding what business to write, coverages to offer, or prices to charge for personal or commercial property insurance.

ISO's PPC program evaluates communities according to a uniform set of criteria, incorporating nationally recognized standards developed by the National Fire Protection Association and the American Water Works Association. A community's PPC grade depends on:

• Needed Fire Flows, which are representative building locations used to determine the theoretical amount of water necessary for fire suppression purposes.
• Emergency Communications, including emergency reporting, telecommunicators, and dispatching systems.
• Fire Department, including equipment, staffing, training, geographic distribution of fire companies, operational considerations, and community risk reduction.
• Water Supply, including inspection and flow testing of hydrants, alternative water supply operations, and a careful evaluation of the amount of available water compared with the amount needed to suppress fires up to 3,500 gpm.

The City of Batavia Fire Department received a PPC of 3, which is considered highly protected. Out of 38,195 departments or districts evaluated, only 6,328 have a PPC of 3 or better.

This rating is a direct result of the hard work and dedication of the members on the CBFD. Special thanks to Captains Morris, Herberger, and Call for the effort put forth in collecting and providing the required documentation to receive this rating.

Press Release:

The City of Batavia Fire Department would like to announce that we will be placing our new Engine 12 in service. To celebrate this occasion, we will be conducting a “push-in” ceremony on Jan 3. 

The push-in ceremony is a tradition in the fire service dating back to the days of horse-drawn equipment when members had to push the equipment into the bays when they returned from an incident because the horses were unable to do it.

Even though the days of horse-drawn fire apparatus are long behind us, the fire service, which is steeped in tradition, continues to conduct these ceremonies. It’s not only a long standing tradition for new apparatus, but gives us a way to celebrate putting it in service.

Please feel free to join us on January 3 at 1 p.m. to see the crews push the apparatus into the station at 18 Evans St., Batavia.

Press Release:

The City of Batavia Fire Department will be flushing fire hydrants on Wednesday, Oct. 25 from approximately 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the general area of North of West Main Street and West of Bank Street. Homes and businesses nearby will be affected. These tests may result in a temporary discoloration of water in that area.  As in the past, please do not attempt to wash any clothing if your water appears discolored.  If you do experience a discoloration of your water, run cold water for about 5 minutes or until clear.

This annual testing is essential to maintain the communities class III Insurance Services Office (ISO) public protection classification, and to assure that fire hydrants are operating efficiently for fire protection purposes. Along with maintaining the fire rating, the test monitors the health of the city's water system, identifies weak areas in the system, and removes material that settle in the water lines. Checking each hydrant improves fire department personnel knowledge of the hydrant locations.

If you have any questions, or should notice a hydrant in need of repair, please contact the fire department at 585-345-6375.

Press Release:

The City of Batavia Fire Department is sponsoring the 10th annual Fire Prevention Week Coloring Contest. This is a coloring contest open to students from grades Kindergarten- Fifth Grade. 

“Our hope is to get the children to discuss safety with their teachers, other students and parents/guardians,” organizers said.

Information has been distributed to City schools, but we wanted to include any home schooled children in the City of Batavia School district as well. Copies of the official coloring page and contest rules are available at City of Batavia Fire Department, 18 Evans St., or by contacting Lieutenant Bob Tedford at rtedford@batavianewyork.com. We encourage all eligible students to participate.

The 2023 Fire Prevention Week (October 8-14) theme is “Cooking Safety starts with You!” Additional information can be found at the Fire Prevention Week website www.FPW.org.

“We all have developed and practiced fire drills at work, at school; but how many of us have actually practiced or created a fire drill at home?”

Practicing Exit Drills in the Home (EDITH) is important for the entire family. Drawing a map of your home knowing two ways out of every room and having a meeting place outside where all family members can gather in case of an emergency are important steps that all families should practice.

Any posters wishing to be entered need to be at the Fire Station located at 18 Evans St. in Batavia no later than Wednesday, October 13, 2023 at 4 pm.
Judging of the posters will take place October 17-19. 

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. Second and third place finishers in each group will also be invited to the fire station awards luncheon. The best of luck to all students!

Press Release:

The City of Batavia Fire Department will be flow testing fire hydrants on Wednesday, from approximately 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This will affect the entire city. Homes and businesses nearby will be affected.

These tests may result in a temporary discoloration of water in that area.  As in the past, please do not attempt to wash any clothing if your water appears discolored.  If you do experience a discoloration of your water, run cold water for about five minutes or until clear.

This annual testing is essential to maintain the communities class III Insurance Services Office (ISO) public protection classification, and to assure that fire hydrants are operating efficiently for fire protection purposes. Along with maintaining the fire rating, the test monitors the health of the city's water system, identifies weak areas in the system, and removes material that settle in the water lines.

Checking each hydrant improves fire department personnel knowledge of the hydrant locations. If you have any questions, or should notice a hydrant in need of repair, please contact the fire department at 585-345-6375.