Harold Mcneil
The Buffalo News, N.Y.
(TNS)
Jan. 17—Buffalo’s fire commissioner appeared Tuesday before the Common Council’s Community Development Committee and told lawmakers the city was well-equipped and adequately staffed to fight fires during the Christmas weekend blizzard, essentially rejecting the firefighters union’s description of the equipment as so old and broken-down that it hampered their efforts.
Commissioner William Renaldo said he and his senior staff met several days prior to the blizzard to proactively identify all of the department’s off-duty personnel that were willing and able to work for an extended period of time.
“On the apparatus and equipment side, we activated all four of our alternative response vehicles in anticipation of a higher than normal volume of EMS calls,” Renaldo said.
The commissioner said the units that were put together to handle emergencies during the storm were “highly maneuverable and extremely flexible.”
“Over the course of this storm, the Buffalo Fire Department responded to 11 working fires that resulted in property damage only and one civilian injury,” Renaldo said. “At no time did the age of our apparatus or equipment affect our ability to respond or operate during any of these incidents.”
His assessment of events was later challenged by Vincent Ventresca, president of Buffalo Firefighters Association, who blamed part of the human tragedy that saw the loss of more than 40 lives in connection with the storm on a “lack of planning and having to operate with outdated and broken-down rigs, equipment and firehouses.”
“For us to save lives, we need fire suppression apparatus that are safe to operate and that can work as they’re supposed to,” Ventresca said. “We need gear that’s up to date and accessible. We need firehouses that will be safe to house us. We cannot wait until the next storm or the next disaster. We need this now.”
His complaints echoed those of city firefighters who, on Jan. 10, joined police officers and public works employees in Buffalo’s Common Council chambers in a show of support for resolutions that were filed by lawmakers in an attempt to make sure that front-line workers are properly equipped during snow emergencies and other high-hazard, extended emergencies like last month’s Christmas weekend blizzard.
Lawmakers on Tuesday urged Renaldo to speak up about the department’s equipment needs. South Council Member Christopher P. Scanlon said he had received numerous calls from lieutenants, captains, chiefs and other fire department personnel working throughout the storm in different parts of the city.
“And this isn’t unique to your department. I asked this of the police commissioner, as well. We were seeing similar situations where some of these people felt they weren’t receiving the directions or support that they needed during this storm,” said Scanlon.
“So this leads me to believe, and this Council is now believing, that we do need an emergency management coordinator,” Scanlon said.
Renaldo told Fillmore Council Member Mitch Nowakowski that sometime in the not so distant past there had been at least two individuals hired specifically as emergency management coordinators for the city, but the position went unfilled after a grant that helped fund the position was no longer available. Renaldo said that, according to the City Charter, the fire commissioner is supposed to act as emergency management coordinator, which, he said, is what he did during the city’s most recent emergency.
Niagara Council Member David A. Rivera said that local natur