Buffalo · Elmwood Avenue · Working Fire

A Domestic Dispute on Elmwood Turns to Fire as a Resident Is Accused of Trying to Set a Third-Floor Apartment Ablaze

A little after 1 PM, a domestic call at a high-rise on Elmwood Avenue escalated into a working fire, with a caller reporting the resident was setting fires and black smoke showing from a third-floor apartment before crews knocked it down.

Just after 1:02 PM, Buffalo Fire and police were sent to 245 Elmwood, Apartment 305, for a call that was at once a domestic and a fire: dispatch relayed a trouble call with possible weapons and a caller reporting a person setting fires inside the apartment.

Crews arriving found the real thing — a working fire on the third floor of the high-rise, with black smoke showing and a report that the resident had attempted to set the fire. Companies mounted a high-rise response, got water on the fire, and reported it contained.

Buffalo · Wecker Street · Pistol-Whipping

A Woman Walks In Bleeding From the Head, Says She Was Pistol-Whipped on Wecker — the Suspect's Whereabouts Unknown

Early yesterday morning — just before 7:45 AM — a woman walked in bleeding from the head and told an officer she had been pistol-whipped by a man at a Wecker Street address, with no word on where he had gone.

At about 7:42 AM, a Buffalo officer called for an ambulance from Charlie District, reporting that a woman had walked in “she's bleeding from the head, stated she was pistol-whipped by a male at 145 Wecker, unknown where that male is now”

The officer asked dispatch to flag the call as a report pending while units worked it. The traffic placed the assault at 145 Wecker and did not establish that the man was located before the thread closed.

Amherst · Mill Valley Court · Domestic Threat

An Amherst Man Threatens to Shoot His Wife and 18-Year-Old Son, but Officers Find No One Home on Mill Valley Court

Just after 2 PM, Amherst police were sent to a Mill Valley Court address on a report that a husband had been threatening to shoot his wife and their 18-year-old son — though no one was in the house when units arrived.

At about 2:01 PM, Amherst police were dispatched to 129 Mill Valley Court on a domestic threat. Dispatch relayed that a woman reported her husband “has been making threats towards her and the 18-year-old son, threatening to shoot them. However, no one is in the home”

Cars were sent for cover and the call was loaded and updated as officers responded. The scanner traffic did not establish where the man was or whether he was located before the thread closed.

Buffalo · Mary B. Talbert Boulevard · Rooftop Jumper

A Man Yells From a Rooftop That He's Going to Jump Near Mary B. Talbert Boulevard, and A District Cars Scramble

Just after 1 PM, with the district already swamped, a Buffalo officer put out a call for help near Mary B. Talbert and Mary Johnson, where a man on a roof was yelling that he would jump.

At about 1:09 PM, a Buffalo officer radioed that the district was swamped and called for a car or two to Mary B. Talbert and Mary Johnson for a possible jumper. Dispatch sharpened the account moments later: “Mary B. Talbert at Mary Johnson on a roof yelling he's going to jump, black male, navy blue clothing, yelling from the top of the roof”

Cars were steered toward the scene, with one officer told the man was attempting to jump off the tunnel. The scanner traffic did not establish the outcome before the thread closed.

Wyoming County · Barber Road · Barn Fire

A Second Alarm Goes Out as a Barn Fire Spreads on Barber Road, Pulling In Departments From Across Wyoming County

Just after 2 PM, Wyoming County dispatch struck a second alarm for a barn fire on Barber Road, sending companies from Silver Springs, Pike, Warsaw, and Gainesville to a scene with smoke showing.

At about 2:02 PM, Wyoming County Fire dispatched a report of a barn fire at 19A Barber Road and told companies to stand by for a second alarm. Equipment from Gainesville, Pike, and Warsaw was ordered to the scene alongside Silver Springs units.

The first-arriving Silver Springs company reported on location with “Smoke showing” Crews worked to stretch a hand line into the driveway as mutual-aid units continued in. The scanner traffic did not establish the extent of damage before the thread closed.

Buffalo · Hoyt Street · School Threat Assessment

A 7th-Grader's Gun Photos on Social Media Prompt a Threat Assessment at a Hoyt Street School

Late yesterday morning, a Buffalo principal called police after a 7th-grade boy posted pictures of guns on social media, dispatch noting the posts were directed at female students.

At about 11:15 AM, Buffalo police were sent to 141 Hoyt for a school complaint. Dispatch relayed that a principal reported a “7th grade, male student posted pics, guns on social media”

Dispatch added that the posts appeared to be directed at female students. Officers took up the call as a threat assessment. The scanner traffic did not establish the outcome before the thread closed.

Buffalo · Taste of Bengal · Wildlife

Thirty Pounds of Trouble: Foaming Woodchuck Stakes Out the Taste of Bengal

A Buffalo officer, after wrapping up a search-warrant assist and summoning animal control, keyed up looking for guidance on a call unlike the others: “I got a caller who claims there's a 30-pound wood chuck in front of the Taste of Bangal foaming at the mouth. Where do you suggest I go with that?” Dog control's best offer was a hopeful "That's wildlife? Something like that? I have no idea." The woodchuck, for its part, held the doorway.

WNY · Thruway · Phonetic Follies

T-A-Z, 7-4-2-9: A Trucker Spells It Out After Clipping the Louisiana Street Bridge

After a light-green Mack dump trailer clipped the Louisiana Street overpass and kept rolling north, a would-be witness tried to relay the company name on the trailer — and the airwaves promptly dissolved into confusion. “Can you spell the name? I'm not making out what you're saying” came the plea, answered with a terse "T-A-Z" and a string of numbers. By the time units got it sorted into the phonetic alphabet, the name had wandered from "Granats" to George-Edward-Robert-Nora-Adam-Tom-Tom, and the truck was five miles up the road.

Buffalo · South Park · Just Kidding

False Alarm: Dispatcher Files the "Boss Joking Around" Call Back Under Checked

Not every call that comes in needs a car. A Buffalo officer radioed in with the all-clear on a complaint that had sounded, briefly, like something: “this gentleman was just joking around with his employee, so you can put this back in checked” One keystroke later, with a nearby trespassing call likewise downgraded, the air was tidy again.

Buffalo · BPD Dist A · Rare Praise

Twenty Years on the Job and Finally, the Helpful Alarm Company

Alarm-company calls are the routine drudgery of a patrol shift, which is what made one Buffalo officer's morning so remarkable that he said so on the air: “that was probably the most helpful alarm company I've ever spoken to in 20 years” The keyholder list, apparently, would even be assembled anew.

WNY · Thruway Maintenance · Out East

Still Out East: A Maintenance Crew's Quiet Plea for a Hand

Some of the morning's most human radio came not from the police channels but from a Thruway maintenance crew, waiting on the white line for a little backup. “Yeah, that would help. We're still out east, so that would help very much” It is the sound of everyone who has ever been a long way from where the help is.

Amherst · Main-Transit · Gas Leak

Natural Gas Leak Isolates Classroom at Main-Transit Building Before Students Return

At 1:49 PM, Amherst-Clarence fire dispatch sent crews to a building near Main and Transit for a reported natural gas leak, with responders isolating a classroom as a precaution before students were due back.

Amherst's FG-2 unit worked the leak into the early afternoon, clearing the area before normal activity resumed in the building.

Amherst · UB North Campus · Gas Leak

Gas Leak Clears Cook Hall at UB North Campus

University at Buffalo Campus Police evacuated Cook Hall on the North Campus just after 1:29 PM for a reported gas leak, calling National Fuel to the scene to check the building before anyone was allowed back in.

Tonawanda · Multi-Vehicle Crash

Four-Car Crash Snarls Tonawanda Roadway, Hurst Tool Called In

Just after 1:32 PM, Tonawanda police dispatch tracked a motor vehicle accident that grew from three cars to four as more information came in, relaying plate numbers for vehicles with front-end, rear-end and airbag damage and warning units that fluid was leaking into the street; three of the four vehicles needed tows.

Minutes later, dispatch traffic referenced a Hurst tool — the hydraulic rescue tool crews use to free trapped occupants — suggesting at least one vehicle may have required extrication, though the full extent of injuries was not detailed on the air.

The same channel also sent a unit to 111 Enzminger Road, Room 207, for an elderly woman dispatchers said had fallen out of her wheelchair and become, in dispatch's words, “stuck in between the legs of the wheelchair”, complaining of shoulder pain.

Buffalo · Butler Street · Structure Fire

Fire Damages Three Butler Street Homes; Burned Building Set for Emergency Demolition

At 8:40 AM, Buffalo Fire's command post gave dispatch a rundown on a fire at 188 Butler, a large two-and-a-half-story wood-frame building that had already been the scene of a previous fire and was scheduled for emergency demolition later that day; crews carried over the damage figures from the earlier blaze rather than filing new ones.

Two occupied two-and-a-half-story wood-frame exposures were also tallied: 184 Butler, on the Number 2 side, at $75,000 to the building and $25,000 in contents, and 192 Butler, on the Number 4 side, at $25,000 to the building with no content loss.

Crews used a 1¾-inch and 2½-inch line plus a tower ladder, and dispatch said “two for the Red Cross right now, but that number might increase”; the cause remains under investigation.

East Aurora · Four Rod Road · Brush Fire

Controlled Burn Escapes Containment, Spreads Into Woods Off Four Rod Road

Just before 1:29 PM, an East Aurora-area fire unit investigating smoke in the woods behind a Four Rod Road property radioed that it was a previously controlled burn that had spread, called for Alden to continue responding, and declared a four-ride command, with all units ordered onto the F2 fireground channel for the incident.

Marilla and Alden engines, along with Wehrle 4, were called in to reinforce the response, with command directing an Alden engine to pull into the driveway at 214 Four Rod Road, nose up to the chief's vehicle, and push manpower into the property's backyard to reach the fire.

Niagara County · Cambria · Working Structure Fire

Ladder Truck, Headquarters Crew Called Up for Working Structure Fire in Cambria

At 11:49 AM, Niagara County Fire Dispatch relayed and repeated a call for a ladder truck to respond to Cambria for what was described on the air as a working structure fire.

Dispatch also told a headquarters company to stand by and cover calls elsewhere in the district while crews remained committed to the fire.

Cattaraugus County · Little Valley · Propane Leak

Propane Leak Forces Evacuation at Lower Eggert Road Home in Little Valley

At 1:16 PM, Cattaraugus County Fire paged Little Valley for a hazard call at 4817 Lower Eggert Road, where a propane leak was reported in the basement; dispatch said one person on scene was evacuating after a third party called it in.

Minutes later, dispatch toned out additional manpower to assist with the propane leak.

Cattaraugus County · Cold Spring · Man Found Unresponsive

Crews Stage Before Entry After Man Found Barely Breathing Near Cold Spring

At 10:37 AM, Cattaraugus County Fire dispatched units near Cold Spring for a report of a man found barely breathing, with ALS crews staging before moving in on scene.

Cattaraugus Fire 1 and the county Sheriff's dispatch continued coordinating the response over the following minutes as units confirmed their approach.

Jamestown · Knife Threat Report

Jamestown Man Accused of Threatening Disabled Neighbor With a Knife

Just before 12:50 PM, Jamestown police dispatch sent officers on what was described on the air as a personal weapon call after a report that a man identified on dispatch as Michael Connelly was “threatening an elderly black male that's disabled with a knife”.

Officers located Connelly nearby on a sidewalk and separately spoke with the alleged victim; the call closed by about 12:54 PM, with dispatch noting no charges would be filed.

Jamestown · Parking Ramp Infant Report

Dispatch Flags Infant Sleeping Under a Sheet at Jamestown Parking Ramp

At 9:57 AM, Jamestown police dispatch relayed a report from the 2nd Street parking ramp, ground level, describing two men identified on the air as Wilkie and Chuck along with a woman at the scene, and noting that a baby was sleeping under a white sheet nearby.

The channel continued with units exchanging identifying codes, but no further details on the infant's condition or the adults involved were given on the air in the traffic reviewed here.

Thruway · Bridge Strike

Dump Trailer Clips Louisiana Street Overpass, Keeps Rolling North

At 11:20 AM, a Thruway Authority patrol unit radioed dispatch to report that a dump trailer had struck the Louisiana Street overpass at mile marker 4, northbound, while hauling a tarp-covered load; the rig did not stop and was still moving north, past mile marker 5.5, within a minute of the strike.

Dispatch could not immediately confirm whether the bridge itself was damaged and pressed for identifying details; the patrol unit described a light-green Mack tractor pulling the dump trailer, with a company name on the door that proved difficult to make out over the radio and had to be spelled out letter by letter as units continued tracking the truck north on the Thruway.