Fire Emergency Services members respond during storm

  • Published
  • By Peter Borys
  • 914th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
NIAGARA FALLS AIR RESERVE STATION,N.Y.- --  The storm that brought the Buffalo area's three-day snowfall total to an epic 7 feet or more was finally expected to stop, but residents still couldn't breathe easy. Roofs already were beginning to creak and collapse. Homeowners and store employees around the region climbed onto roofs Thursday to shovel off the snow and reduce the danger.

Members of the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station Fire Emergency Services (NFARSFES) responded to a mutual aid request from Niagara County to assist due to personnel and resources already committed to neighboring Erie County's storm response; and Niagara County could not provide enough manpower.

The base provided a rescue truck, technical rescue trailer; and five personnel.
A Strike Team was dispatched to an assisted living complex in Cheektowaga, a suburb of Buffalo with three structures; one that housed 89 residents that required around-the-clock care, another housed 47 independent living residents, and the third was an empty administration building.

Occupants reported that they heard creaking and cracking from inside the buildings. "Both of the occupied buildings had 3-4 feet of snow on the roofs, adding considerable strain to their structural components," said Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station Deputy Fire Chief Aaron McLane.

"Our responders are all specially trained in advanced technical rescue to include structural collapse incidents," added McLane.

Niagara's team along with other local firefighters was tasked to determine the structural stability of one of the larger buildings and recommend if the building should be evacuated.

The responders were looking for cracks in the walls and ceilings and then used ladders to access eight separate attic spaces, crawled into the attics, and examined the roof's truss system. 

"Crawling through an attic is a dirty, uncomfortable task. You have to crawl on your hands and knees from one rafter to the next, taking care not to put your weight in between the rafters because you could fall through the ceiling and into the room below", said chief McLane.

"We are trained to move very cautiously anytime you are evaluating the structural components of a building; we look closely for signs of component failure, such as cracked or twisted wood, damaged gusset plates, or missing nails. If we have reason to believe a collapse may occur, we have heavy-duty pneumatic rescue struts that we employ to support the weakened structural components and protect us in the event of a collapse. Fortunately, the building we were examining was properly designed and built to withstand WNY winters, so we didn't have to use those," added McLane.

The facility was determined not at risk and residents were allowed to remain inside the building. According to McLane, a recommendation to the facility manager was to have a contractor remove the snow from the roof.

"We have a great relationship with our emergency responders here in Niagara County and also with Jonathan Schultz, the Niagara County Emergency Manager. We have mutual aid agreements with the surround volunteer fire departments and with the specialized teams from Niagara County, so we often train together throughout the year," said McLane.

"The emergency responders in Buffalo and Erie County have been working since Tuesday night, and they are beyond exhausted. We are alert and ready to respond to any hazardous materials, technical rescue, or structural fire they need help with," added the chief.

The storms were blamed for at least 13 deaths in western New York, mostly from heart attacks and exposure.

Little or no snow was expected for the remainder of the week, and the forecast called for a chance of rain on Saturday and more on Monday along with temperatures approaching 60 degrees which will no doubt cause severe flooding, another major concern for officials.

Even for the Buffalo area - one of the snowiest and hardiest places in America - this was one for the history books. The three-day total was close to the nearly 8 feet that the region typically gets over an entire year.