Published: May 04, 2007 07:35 pm      

FIRE CALLS: Falls Fire Department reports for May 5

• INCIDENT: Early Friday morning, fire units were dispatched to near simultaneous events involving carbon monoxide detector activations. In the first instance, units were alerted to respond to a home in the Packard Court. The occupant was alerted around 3 a.m. by their detector going off and called the fire department. Units found abnormal levels of carbon monoxide in the dwelling and traced the source to a suspected faulty oven. Firefighters ventilated the structure and advised the occupant to contact a contractor to perform the necessary repairs. In the second incident, fire units were alerted just before 4 a.m. to respond to a home in the 500 block of 24th Street. Again firefighters found a problem and National Fuel was called to the scene.

• NOTE: In each of these incidents the occupants were lucky, as detectors performed as intended. Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless gas that inhibits the body’s ability to use oxygen. During this time of year our heating systems are more prone to activate at night when the temperature goes down. During the “October Surprise” storm, a number of deaths occurred in Western New York due to carbon monoxide positioning. The Niagara Falls Fire Department reminds all residents to regularly inspect and test their detectors and change the batteries as recommended.

• FIRE: The April 27 evening commute on Niagara Falls Boulevard was a little slower due to car fire in the 8700 block. The operator of the vehicle had just had some maintenance performed and while driving began to notice smoke coming from his vehicle. Firefighters were alerted and arrived shortly after 6 p.m. to find the engine compartment of the vehicle well involved in fire. Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze and, in a short while, the traffic flow was moving normally.

• INCIDENT: Firefighters responded at 5:23 p.m. Sunday to a report of a shooting in the 1600 block of Falls Street. Responding units were told to stage at a remote location, as the scene had not been secured by the police department. Once the scene was secured, fire units and department EMTs were allowed in and found a male victim that was suffering a gunshot wound. Firefighters began to treat the patient, who was eventually transported to a local medical facility. Units also assisted the police department during the investigation of this incident by providing ladders to enable investigators to search for evidence that may have been discarded on adjacent rooftops.

• FIRE: An errant raccoon was apparently the cause of a large power failure that effected parts of the city early Thursday morning. Power was lost to many places in the city around 5 a.m., which resulted in firefighters responding to a number of alarm activations. Buildings on Pine Avenue, Elmwood Avenue, Main Street, and Ontario Avenue went into alarm. These simultaneous alarms required much of the on-duty firefighting force. Fortunately, no significant fires were associated with this power failure. Partial power interruption can result in fires when machinery designed to operate with certain electrical supply receive only partial power. This results in overheating which may lead to a fire.