Chautauqua County · Jamestown · Hammer Assault

Man Struck in the Head With a Hammer on East 2nd Street; Suspect Named on the Air

Jamestown officers rushed to a first-floor apartment overnight after a caller said a man had just hit someone in the head with a hammer, with EMS staged nearby and the bleeding victim waiting out front.

Early this morning, at about 12:55 AM, a Jamestown police dispatcher sent units to 741 East 2nd Street, reporting that a man was inside on the first floor and had just struck a subject in the head with a hammer, according to the radio traffic. The dispatcher named the suspect on the air and directed EMS to stage nearby rather than pull up to the scene.

The injured man was reported waiting out in front of 741 East 2nd, and moments later an officer radioed that he had the victim by his car, asking that the ambulance be sent to the corner of 2nd and Cheney for what he described as a laceration. The traffic did not state whether the suspect was taken into custody.

Cattaraugus County · Route 16 · Pediatric Airlift

Toddler's Seizure at a Route 16 Campground Sends a Helicopter Into the Air

A two-year-old girl in an active seizure, her family pulled to the roadside near an Adventure Campground, drew an ALS response and a Mercy Flight lift toward Buffalo yesterday evening.

Yesterday evening, at about 5:17 PM, Cattaraugus County fire dispatch toned out an ALS seizure call to 5811 Route 16 at the Adventure Campground and Trailer Park for a two-year-old girl in an active seizure, according to the radio traffic. The family had pulled over in a black Nissan Rogue near the campground, and multiple crews were assigned.

It landed in the middle of a punishing run of calls for the county's ALS units — an 83-year-old in respiratory distress, a 66-year-old with chest pain, and a six-week-old in trouble in Salamanca all came in within minutes, and dispatch was warned at one point that no other units were available. By about 5:22 PM a chief reported Mercy Flight was in the air, headed to Mercy Hospital. The traffic did not detail the child's condition after transport.

West Seneca · Bled Road · Child Not Breathing

“Child Not Breathing” Sends Every Car to Bled Road — Then Comes Word: Baby's Alert

A West Seneca dispatcher scrambled all available cars to a home yesterday evening for a small child reported not breathing, only to call them back down minutes later when the baby was found conscious.

Yesterday at about 6:04 PM, a West Seneca police dispatcher pushed every available car toward 39 Bled Road for what came in as a child not breathing, first given as a two-year-old and then corrected on the air to a two-month-old, according to the radio traffic.

The tension broke within four minutes. “Baby's alert,” the dispatcher reported, then quickly moved to ease the response: “Slow the cars, slow the cars. Conscious and alert.” The infant was found breathing on arrival.

Cattaraugus County · Salamanca · Infant in Distress

Six-Week-Old Turning Blue on East Street Pulls Seneca EMS Into Salamanca

A tiny patient with labored breathing and blue-tinged skin drew a mutual-aid ALS response yesterday evening, with Seneca EMS asked to roll alongside the town's own crew.

Yesterday evening, at about 5:19 PM, Salamanca fire dispatch toned an ALS difficulty-breathing call to 71 East Street for a six-week-old girl described as struggling to breathe, turning blue, and lethargic, according to the radio traffic.

Salamanca's own unit responded, and the dispatcher pulled in additional help, directing Seneca EMS to the scene as mutual aid. The same infant appeared moments later on the neighboring Cattaraugus County channel, where crews were being juggled against a wave of simultaneous ALS calls. The traffic did not report the child's condition after crews arrived.

Genesee County · North Pearl Street · Unresponsive Child

Unresponsive Eight-Year-Old Draws a Pediatric Emergency Dispatch Near Batavia

Genesee County fire dispatch toned an Oakfield medic to a North Pearl Street home yesterday evening for a young boy found unresponsive.

Yesterday evening, at about 7:13 PM, Genesee County fire dispatch put out a call for an eight-year-old boy reported unresponsive at 56 North Pearl Street, between Bennett and Carriot, according to the radio traffic.

Dispatch assigned Oakfield's Medic 1 to the address, repeating the location and the nature of the call. The traffic did not state the boy's condition once crews reached him.

Cheektowaga · Cheekwood Drive · Ambulance Delay

An 85-Year-Old on the Floor for Over an Hour: “AMR Still Hasn't Had Anybody”

Cheektowaga fire crews held a Cheekwood Drive scene late last night for a fallen elderly patient while an ambulance that had been requested more than an hour earlier still had not arrived.

Late yesterday evening, at about 8:46 PM, Cheektowaga fire was dispatched to 29 Cheekwood Drive for an elderly patient who had fallen with a leg injury, according to the radio traffic. Fire crews were sent specifically because the ambulance was running badly behind.

The frustration was plain on the air: “AMR still hasn't had anybody. It's been holding for over an hour and she's still on the ground,” a firefighter reported. The wait for a rig was among several strained EMS exchanges across the region overnight; the traffic did not say when an ambulance finally reached the address.

Southtowns · Hamburg · Overheard

Backing Up Blind, With a Little Help From a Guy Named Postcard

Somewhere in the Hamburg fire ground last night, one firefighter needed to reverse a rig and had a very specific request for a colleague apparently known on the radio as Postcard: kill the spotlight so he could see behind him. “Hey postcard, can you shut the spotlight off so I can back up?” It is the kind of small, human aside that never makes the incident report — one crew member trusting another to douse a light before he backs into the dark.

Cattaraugus County · Overheard

The Firehouse Philosopher: “There Is Always a Fire at 5 O'Clock in the Morning”

Deep into a brutal evening of back-to-back medic calls, a weary voice on the Cattaraugus County fire channel offered the kind of tired wisdom you only earn on a long shift: “There is always a fire going on at 5 o'clock in the morning” No fire was actually going at that hour — just a firefighter, six minutes from a meet-up, taking a beat to state a universal truth of the job into an open mic.

West Seneca · Harlem Road · Overheard

A Tow-Truck Two-Step: The Officers Are at the South End, the Truck's at the North

Two in the morning on Harlem Road, and the choreography wasn't quite coming together. “They have the tow truck at the north end. The officers are ready for it. They're down at the south end” the West Seneca crew reported — the wrecker parked at one end of the scene and the officers ready for it at the other, waiting to be brought together. Small-hours logistics, narrated live.

Amherst · Overheard

Case Closed: “The Deer Fled as I Approached It. I'll Be Clear.”

An Amherst officer dispatched yesterday afternoon on an injured-deer complaint filed the most concise resolution the wire produced all day. “The deer fled as I approached it. I'll be clear” And with that, the deer having settled its own case, the call was cleared.

Cheektowaga · Overheard

An Hour on the Floor, and a Firefighter Says the Quiet Part Loud

It is one thing to read about ambulance shortages; it is another to hear a firefighter narrate one in real time. Holding a Cheektowaga scene last night for an elderly woman who had fallen, a crew member put the situation on the air with no varnish at all: “AMR still hasn't had anybody. It's been holding for over an hour and she's still on the ground” The plain exasperation in a single transmission said more about the strain on the region's ambulances than any statistic.

Tonawanda · Englewood Avenue

Apartment Party Turns Violent as Man Is Assaulted With Fire Extinguisher on Englewood Avenue

Just after 6:16 AM, Tonawanda police dispatch sent units to Englewood Avenue, between Fayette and Dumont, on a report of a man trying to kick down apartment doors after pulling a fire extinguisher off the wall and banging on residents' doors with it.

Patrol arriving on scene confirmed “one male, heavy bleeding” and called for medics; dispatch relayed that the man had been running around the building with the extinguisher before officers caught up to him.

Buffalo · Perry Street

Sledgehammer-Wielding Man From Earlier Call Returns to Perry Street, Still at Large

Just before 9:45 PM yesterday, a Buffalo police dispatcher called for backup at 180 Perry Street[*], saying a man involved in an earlier incident at the address had come back carrying a banded sledgehammer.

The man was described as Black, wearing a light gray hoodie and riding a bicycle, traveling with a white female on foot; he had not been located as officers moved in on the address.

Buffalo · North Division

Woman Reports Boyfriend Assaulted Her, Claimed to Have a Gun Inside North Division Street Home

Just before 1:30 AM, Buffalo police dispatch sent officers to an assault at 136 North Division Street, where a woman waiting outside said she had been assaulted by her boyfriend — described on the air as a Black male in a white shirt and black pants — who she said had a firearm in the house.

Buffalo · Grider Street

Two Men Rob Bus-Stop Rider at Knifepoint Near West Ferry and Grider

Just after 5:42 PM yesterday, Buffalo police radio logged a robbery at a bus stop on West Ferry Street, carried under an address of 462 Grider Street; the victim said he was confronted by two Black male suspects armed with large knives.

A follow-up radio check moments later confirmed the detail, with dispatch repeating that the suspects were carrying “large knives”.

Buffalo · Elm Street

Smoke and Flames From a Sewer Grate Draw Buffalo Fire to Elm and Goodell

Just after 7:28 PM yesterday, Buffalo Fire dispatch sent a preliminary signal — first called out as a level 3 response and revised seconds later to a level 2 — to investigate a report of smoke and flames coming from a sewer at Elm Street and Goodell Street[*] [heard: Goodale], sending South Region's Engine 2, Ladder 2 and Battalion 43.

A battalion chief confirmed en route that a passerby had reported “smoke and flames coming from the sewer grates” near the intersection, though no fire or further escalation was described on the air.

Buffalo · Normal Avenue

53-Year-Old Found Not Breathing on Normal Avenue Ruled Apparent DOA

Just before 4:39 PM yesterday, Buffalo police dispatch sent officers to Normal Avenue, Apartment 1, for a 53-year-old woman described on the radio as “mom's cold, not breathing”.

Minutes later, at 4:43 PM, dispatch told responding units to change the call type — the woman was now being recorded as an apparent DOA at the address.

Buffalo · Leroy Avenue

Level-3 Response to Reported Basement Smoke on Leroy Avenue Finds Nothing Showing

At 10:43 PM yesterday, Buffalo Fire dispatch sent a level-3 response — engines 33 and 34, Ladder 7 and Battalion 47 — to Leroy Avenue between Holden and Hill after a caller reported “smoke coming from the basement”, with no flames visible.

Engine 33 arrived to confirm a two-and-a-half-story wood frame and began investigating; a unit checking the basement soon radioed that it had “nothing showing”, while Battalion 47 asked dispatch to get National Grid to the scene.

Cheektowaga · Wabash Avenue

Cheektowaga Woman Reports Death Threats From Her Own Daughter

Just after 6:47 PM yesterday, Cheektowaga police were sent to a home on Wabash Avenue after a nurse called on behalf of a patient who said her own daughter had threatened to kill her and the rest of the family, adding that the daughter has had a mental health breakdown in the past.

A responding officer reported getting off the phone with Crisis Services, who said “they're all booked up right now, but they're going to have a team come out here later tonight”; dispatch told the family to call back later so a unit could accompany the crisis team for safety, and the call was cleared for the time being.

Cheektowaga · George Urban Boulevard

Reckless Driver Reported Swerving Down George Urban Boulevard

Just after 5:29 PM yesterday, Depew police relayed a report of a reckless driver heading eastbound on George Urban Boulevard from Dick Road in Cheektowaga, in a vehicle believed to be a black Kia Soul carrying plate MCU-2743; the complainant said the car was swerving all over the roadway and that other vehicles may have been forced off it.

Dispatch tracked the car as it passed the West End firehouse, and within a few minutes an officer reported having located the vehicle further along the corridor near Transit Road; no crash or injuries were confirmed on the air.

West Seneca · Harlem Road

Rollover Crash Catches Fire With Driver Trapped After Fleeing Patrol Stop

Just after 7:16 PM yesterday, West Seneca Fire dispatch sent Winchester companies to a rollover motor-vehicle accident with police already on scene at the intersection of Mineral Springs Road and Harlem Road, with the address given moments later as 815 Harlem Road. Dispatch advised responding units that the vehicle had fled from a patrol stop, putting multiple police units in the area with its occupants described on the air as suspects.

By 7:18 PM, patrol on scene reported the wrecked vehicle was partially on fire, and two minutes later dispatch told Winchester's engine crew that “the vehicle is on fire with a person stuck inside”, prompting a second company to respond and a neighboring department to staff an additional engine if needed.

Jamestown · Lincoln School

Disorderly Man Threatening Self-Harm Reported Outside Jamestown's Lincoln School

Just after 6:23 PM yesterday, Jamestown police were sent to Lincoln School at 301 Front Street for a disorderly man, described as Black and in his early 40s, who was yelling and appeared to be threatening to harm himself.

A second call minutes later placed the man at the school's back door on the Highland Avenue side; officers made contact with him nearby, and a records check came back negative for local warrants and NCIC hits before the call was cleared.