east pembroke

It's a bird. It's a plane. No, .... it's a piece of a farmer's crop cover.

Remember the story Saturday about a balloon "or something like" falling from the sky near Pratt Road.

One resident described it as "a giant roll of toilet paper" flying through the air.

East Pembroke's fire chief, Don Newton, called today and clued us in on what really happened.

On Friday, a local farmer put down a 250x50-foot cloth crop cover over freshly planted seeds. It was weighted down with soil.

But a strong enough gust of wind hit East Pembroke on Saturday to rip up a portion of the cover and send it flying through the air. It traveled a good long distance before getting snagged in the trees.

Everybody who responded thought it was a weather balloon and spent a good deal of time looking for the weather device that would have been attached to it. The Buffalo weather station wanted it back.

But, we now know, there was no such device attached.

Newton said the farmer was afraid he'd be in a bit of trouble for the mishap, but Newton reassured him -- you're a farmer, this is an agricultural community, things happen.

The Emergency Dispatch Center has received a couple of calls reporting a big balloon of some sort crashed into the trees off Pratt Road, east of Powers Road, by the Thruway, and in the woods.

The contraption is hung up in the trees. It's unknown if occupied. East Pembroke Fire Department is responding, along with Mercy medics as a precaution. Mercy Flight is also put on standby.

A responder on scene said he saw the balloon come down pretty fast and it looked liked a "roll of toilet paper coming down."

UPDATE 4:24 p.m.: Witnesses at the scene say no one is in the thing, which is said to be a weather balloon. East Pembroke and medics are put back in service.

UPDATE 4:29 p.m.: The weather service in Buffalo told dispatchers these types of balloons are put up every 12 hours, every day. This one apparently fell short due to a lack of wind. The white object seen falling from it is thought to be its instrument box. Responders say they haven't located it and think it might be in the swamp. If it's found it will be sent back to Buffalo. The weather service doesn't want the damaged balloon back, just the instrument box.

UPDATE Monday, April 29: This wasn't a weather balloon after all. It is a "crop blanket" from a nearby farm. The farmer told authorities that he had put it over his crop on Friday and on Saturday half of it tore off and blew away. Intact, the crop blanket measured 250 feet by 50 feet.

A two-car, head-on collision is reported in the area of 8419 Indian Falls Road, north of Pratt Road. Mercy Flight out of Batavia is apprised and available. East Pembroke Fire Department and two Mercy Medic units are responding.

UPDATE 10:24 a.m.: A responder on scene reports the vehicles are well off the roadway, not blocking, and the occupants claim no injuries. Medics will continue in order to evaluate.

While out taking pictures of railroad crossings this morning, I passed this barn on Brown Road.

Some railroads crossings of the CSX line in Genesee County will be temporarily closed this evening in portions of the Town of Batavia, Darien, Corfu and East Pembroke.

Railroad crossings will be closed to all traffic on Wortendyke, Upton, Wilkinson and Colby roads, and Ellinwood Avenue, and possibly at other locations along that rail route.

The closure is expected to last until approximately midnight.

A fully involved truck fire next to a building is reported at 2369 Killian Road. East Pembroke Fire Department is responding. The location is on the corner of Killian and Pratt roads. The engine compartment is engulfed in flames, according to a person on scene.

A structure fire is reported 735 Genesee St., Corfu.

Corfu fire along with Pembroke, East Pembroke, Darien and the City's Fast Team all dispatched.

Firefighters on scene say people are still in the house and they're trying to get them out. The fire is at the back of the structure, possibily on a porch.

UPDATE 11:34 p.m.: The City's Fast Team is cancelled.

UPDATE 11:35 p.m.: The fire is knocked down. Crittendon and Akron were also called, but now are cancelled.

UPDATE 12:15 a.m.: Corfu returning to quarters.

A passerby reported flames coming from a chimney at 856 Genesee St. in Corfu. Corfu, City of Batavia Fire Department's Fast Team along with Darien, Pembroke, East Pembroke, and Indian Falls are called to the scene. First responders confirm flames shooting from the chimney.

UPDATE 11:46 p.m.: Only Corfu and Darien are told to continue to the scene. Akron and Crittenden, the Fast Team and the others are cancelled. An infrared camera and a ladder to access the side of the house are requested.

A car is on fire next to a residence at 8850 Hartshorn Road. East Pembroke Fire Department is responding.

UPDATE 2:43 p.m.: A responder reports the car fire is fully involved.

UPDATE 3:05 p.m.: Fire is out.

A motor-vehicle accident, unknown injuries, is reported in Pembroke at Main and Boyce roads. It's in East Pembroke Fire District and they are responding along with Mercy medics. The accident took down a pole with live lines across Route 5 and it is blocking traffic. Traffic police will be needed and are called to routes 5 and 77.

UPDATE 2:20 p.m.: They will shut down Route 5 at Indian Falls Road. Responders are told to use caution as the pavement is very slippery. National Grid is notified.

UPDATE 2:23 p.m.: There are injuries, no other details yet.

UPDATE 2:35 p.m.: Only local traffic (residents) will be permitted on Cleveland Road. They are going to close Cleveland Road at Indian Falls Road.

UPDATE 2:53 p.m.: A National Grid rep is now on scene.

UPDATE 2:56 p.m.: National Grid estimates it will be about an hour before they can send out a work crew to remove the wires, etc., from the roadway.

UPDATE 3:10 p.m.: Because of the hazardous road conditions, Boyce and Route 33 is being closed to all but local traffic.

UPDATE 3:54 p.m.: National Grid workers are at the scene so roads can be reopened when they are finished clearing the pole and wires.

A car, pole accident with possible minor injury has been reported on Stegman Road between Slusser and Powers roads.

Mercy Medic 1 and East Pembroke fire responding.

One subject is out of the vehicle walking around, talking on the phone. Mercy medic will be responding non-emergency.

Damage to the pole is minimal and the driver is shaken up a bit.

UPDATE 9:33 p.m.: Mercy Medic 1 on scene.

UPDATE 9:40 p.m.: National Grid has been notified about the pole.

UPDATE 9:43 p.m.: Mercy Medic 1 transporting one to UMMC.

UPDATE 9:52 p.m.: National Grid has a 35-minute ETA.

UPDATE 9:56 p.m.: East Pembroke assignment back in service.

A fully involved tractor-trailer fire has been reported on the New York State Thruway near mile post marker 396.1 eastbound.

East Pembroke has called for help from Pembroke, Indian Falls, Oakfield and the Town of Batavia fire departments.

The driver is not sure what he is hauling.

UPDATE 10:02 p.m.: All mutual aid companies told to stand down. Fire is out. Corfu filling in for East Pembroke.

UPDATE 10:07 p.m.: Corfu can also go back into service along with all other mutual aid departments.

UPDATE 10:22 p.m.: State Police are on scene. Tractor-trailer driver is going to try and have the truck towed to Batavia.

Deputy Brian Thompson was battling flu and fever today. That didn't stop him from helping a snowmobiler who was stranded in water and ice on a trail off Wilkinson Road in East Pembroke.

Genesee County dispatchers got the 9-1-1 call about 2:30 this afternoon of a snowmobiler swamped in water near a creek and Deputy Thompson was the first on scene. 

Using the GPS signal from the snowmobiler's phone, Thompson was able to position himself 575 feet south of the scene. After about 10 minutes of plowing through waist-deep snow, and a half mile later, Thompson spotted the 30 year old male rider standing on a small island next to a tree. His snowmobile was up to its windshield in water.

Deputy Thompson was able to guide him back to the trail and onto the road where an ambulance was waiting. Hypothermia was a concern after being in the cold creek water and frigid temperatures for 45 minutes. Mercy Medic ambulance crews checked the rider over and he was released at the scene.

The snowmobile had to be removed before nightfall to keep the trail safe for other riders.

Rising creek waters made the ice thin and the area swamp-like near the trail. Riders need to be aware of trail conditions each day.

Thompson says this rider was lucky. He says it's important to remember some basic snowmobiling rules that could save your life. Never drink and ride, travel in pairs, never alone, slow down, and always be aware that trails change from day to day. 

Thompson says, "This young man had just been on the trail yesterday, and again this just shows how fast conditions can change. He was confident the trail would be OK today, and it wasn't."

A snowmobiler went off a trail and into some sort of body of water way off the road in the woods, west of 9140 Wilkinson Road. The snowmobile is submerged and the rider is apparently stuck in the icy water, although he is said to be uninjured. The Water Rescue Team from East Pembroke is responding along with volunteer firefighters.

UPDATE 2:44 p.m.: The location is a crick approximately parallel to Lear Road, about a 100 yards south of the railroads tracks, in a clump of woods north of an open field known as Harmon Field. The rider's mobile phone is about to go dead. A Town of Batavia plow, which was in the vicinity, is heading back to the rescuers' location to plow a more direct path to the victim. Snowmobilers tell dispatch the place "is a total washout. There's a lot of water in the area." An ambulance is called.

UPDATE 2:48 p.m.: A law enforcement officer at the scene tells dispatch the snow is too deep to plow there, so the Town of Batavia's plow is told to cancel its response. A Gator from Alexander is called instead. The rider is out of the water, but surrounded by it.

UPDATE 2:52 p.m.: The Gator response from Alexander is cancelled. Responders may be able to access the spot and walk the person out, although there's no clear way to do that just yet.

UPDATE 3:08 p.m.: Rescuers According to a reader, K-9 Deputy Brian Thompson and the victim are walking out of the accident site, and are nearing a blue house with a white barn and green tractor. ATVs were not able to get back there.

A field fire is report in the area of North Pembroke and Galloway roads. Smoke is showing. "It's in the middle of a field. I'm not sure how we're going to get to it," says a responder on scene. East Pembroke Fire Department is responding and Alabama and Town of Batavia are providing mutual aid.

UPDATE 2:25 p.m.: The property owner is on scene and says he's burning some brush from a hedgerow. Alabama and Town of Batavia are back in service. East Pembroke will handle the assignment as need be.

A motor-vehicle accident has been reported in front of the East Pembroke Fire Hall, 2623 E. Main Road, East Pembroke.

At the same time, the fire station's fire alarm has gone off.

The car has apparently gone through the door of the fire hall and struck a fire truck.

There is a report of one injury.

East Pembroke fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

UPDATE 3:53 p.m.: The vehicle struck a center post on the building causing structural damage. Code enforcement requested to the scene.

UPDATE 3:56 p.m.: Both engines and the tanker are blocked in the building. The chief orders that as soon as the patient is extricated -- and the patient has been extricated -- that some pictures be taken and the trucks moved to another location as soon as possible.

UPDATE 4:02 p.m.: The fire chiefs will be notified in Oakfield, Indian Falls, Pembroke and Town of Batavia and crews will be assembled as they deem necessary to stand by in their quarters. One engine from the East Pembroke hall is out and available in case of fire, but that's it. Any other equipment needed to fight a fire would need to come from elsewhere.

UPDATE 4:15 p.m.: All the trucks from the East Pembroke Fire Station have been safely removed from the damaged building. But crews in other halls will remain on standby duty for the time being.

UPDATE 5:24 p.m.: The driver was eastbound on Route 5 and either fell asleep or blacked out due to a medical condition, according to Trooper Mark Catanzaro. Her car entered the west driveway, went airborne after cutting between a utility pole and the fire department sign and over an embankment, striking the post between two doors. No fire engines were damaged. The trucks are being relocated, according to Chief Don Newton, to Ron and Newt's. East Pembroke fire will be able to respond to calls from that location, but neighboring districts will also be called on mutual aid for most emergency calls. The trucks will be returned to the hall after repairs are completed, which will take one or two weeks.

A fire in the woods is reported off Pratt Road. East Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments are responding. A firefighter on scene says "It looks like it's going pretty good."

UPDATE 11:22 a.m.: From as best as I can glean, this is a four-wheeler or some other piece of equipment which caught fire at the rear of a property in some grass, near a tree line. Firefighters will use fire extinguishers to put it out.

UPDATE 11:30 a.m.: The crews are back in service.

A possible barn fire, now out, is reported at 3023 W. Main St. Road in East Pembroke. East Pembroke firefighters on scene say the blaze may have gotten partially into the structure and they are wetting it down thoroughly, along with the grounds.

A school bus and a tractor-trailer have collided at 3299 W. Main St. Road. The school bus is on its side. Injuries unknown. There is one student and the bus driver and they are both out of the vehicle. East Pembroke Fire Department is responding along with Mercy EMS. Oakfield and Darien are asked to stand by in quarters along with Town of Batavia firefighters. Mercy Flight is put on standby. This is west of Wortendyke Road.

UPDATE 12:16 p.m.: Wortendyke at Route 5 is closed, along with Route 5 at Hopkins Road. Sheriff's deputies are rerouting traffic until fire police can respond. Mercy Flight will not be needed. The Pembroke school district has already called a tow truck for the bus.

UPDATE 12:18 p.m.: The semi's driver is also out of his vehicle. Response from Oakfield, Darien and Town of Batavia is cancelled.

UPDATE 12:22 p.m.: The two adults will be sign-offs. There is one pediatric patient to be transported to the hospital.

UPDATE 12:29: "Until we get the bus on its wheels, the road's going to be closed for awhile." Meanwhile, truck traffic is backing up. A State Trooper is responding to the scene.

UPDATE 12:43 p.m.: The child is being taken to UMMC.

UPDATE 1:35 p.m.: The roadway is reopened. All units clear.