Around the Neighborhood
Cyclist Struck on North Forest, Substation Smoke on Harlem, & A Missing Barefoot Woman All Hit the Radio Inside Half an Hour123
From 6:25 to 6:50 p.m. yesterday, Amherst dispatchers were juggling three open incidents at once. At 6:26 p.m., APD broadcast a hit-and-run at North Forest Road and JJ — “person on a bike that was struck by a car, unknown injuries at this time”1 — with an immediate change to a hit-and-run charge and the Erie County Sheriff offering Air One overhead for an area check.4
In parallel, units were running an active search for a 5′2″, 90-lb. woman with very long brown hair, last seen in a purplish tank top, black shorts, and no shoes; deputies were holding 45 minutes for a K9.53 Husband, neighbors, and patrol were sweeping a property with a pond out back — the husband was “going to check it right now.”6
As that wound up, Amherst PD reported “gray smoke coming from the building” at the National Grid substation at 4523 Harlem Road.2 Amherst Fire dispatched Snyder 9 with Williamsville and Main-Transit standing by;7 on arrival the call was downgraded to “an odor of a transformer going,” no smoke showing,8 and the scene was turned over to a National Grid supervisor at 7:16 p.m.9
“44-Year-Old Female That Passed Out Is Now Unconscious but Not Alive” — Amherst Fire’s 6:45 p.m. Call to 401 Robin Road10
Amherst Fire dispatched to 401 Robin Road, between Robin and Washington, on a passed-out subject who had deteriorated.10 All units were told to stand by at 6:45 p.m.11 The dispatcher’s language — the literal “unconscious but not alive” phrasing — is the kind of soft framing you sometimes hear before a confirmed code on the air.
APD Pulls a White Sedan for Reckless Driving With an Unrestrained Toddler in the Front Seat12
At 3:15 p.m., an Amherst patrol unit asked dispatch to ping a complainant back: a caller had reported “driving recklessly with a small child unrestrained in the front seat” on the vehicle identified by plate Adam Union 3739.12 APD pushed the call as a welfare check on the child.13
Heim Elementary Principal Calls APD Because a Teacher Is “Having Issues With Their Spouse” in the Building14
A patrol unit relayed at 3:52 p.m. that a complainant — identified on the air as the school’s principal — had asked APD to come over after a Heim Elementary teacher was “having issues with their spouse,” with the spouse reported not on location.14 The unit reported no one on scene by 3:53 p.m. and asked dispatch to call the complainant back.15
University Plaza Burns Twice in 90 Minutes: Mulch Fires at 3520 and 3500 Main Street, Both Knocked Down1617
Amherst Fire took a report of a mulch fire at 3520 Main Street — the back of the University Plaza Tops — at 3:14 p.m.;16 the dispatcher reported a “blazing mulch fire put out” sixteen minutes later.18 At 4:52 p.m., Eggertsville rolled to a second mulch fire one address north at 3500 Main Street — the “New Diamond Tee Bank,” right next to the Raha Coffee House that featured prominently in yesterday afternoon’s bird-siege story.17 A third mulch fire was logged extinguished at 5:39 p.m. by an aerosol vacuum service.19
10:09 p.m. at the Amherst Glen Senior Apartments: Somebody Is Yelling for Help Through the Wall20
Twin City Ambulance arrived at 465 John James Audubon Parkway for what was paged as an assist call,21 then radioed that “connected into the apartment, they hear somebody yelling for help.”20 Police pulled run-of-the-mill records on two named occupants — a Schultz, 2-5-90, and a Taylor, 9-22-94 — and asked for a second patrol on the driveway.22
5:53 a.m. Echo Response to 24 Spruce Street, Quarry Hill Estates — 70-Year-Old Female Cardiac Arrest23
Snyder 9 was dispatched echo — the EMS code reserved for life-threatening — to a 70-year-old female cardiac arrest in the Quarry Hill estate at 24 Spruce Street, with Snyder 9 calling it a confirmation while responding.24
10:03 p.m.: National Suicide Hotline Routes APD to an Amherst Address After a 13-Year-Old Messaged Wanting to “Commit 10-23”25
APD took the welfare check at 10:03 p.m. with the dispatch note that “all information was from the National Suicide Hotline” and the IP address resolved to a named resident.25
Overheard: The Wires
“Are You Peeing, Too?” — EAFD Dispatch’s Open Microphone Catches the Same Question Twice in Three Hours2627
At 5:44 p.m., the East Aurora Fire Department dispatcher asked the air “Are you peeing?” immediately before paging an EMS call at 6020 Clinton Street.26 At 8:54 p.m., a near-identical “Are you peeing, too?” preceded the next page.27 Whether this is a recurring inside joke between a dispatcher and a partner stepping out, or just a profoundly committed bathroom habit, the radio refuses to clarify.
The Backpack Guy at Papi Grande: 4:02 p.m. APD Call to 4276 Maple Road — “Walking Around the Parking Lot Yelling at People, Starting to Kill Them”28
An employee at the Papi Grande called Amherst PD on a white male in his 40s, about 6′2″, blonde, in a black shirt and jeans, carrying two backpacks. The complaint, per the dispatcher: he was “walking around the parking lot yelling at people, starting to kill them.”28 The unit closed the call at “wrapping up on Walmart” two minutes later.29
A 13-Year-Old Calls 911 on Her 16-Year-Old Sister for “Ruining Her Room” — Allegedly Over a Stolen Vape30
At 4:47 p.m. APD took a complaint at 154 Linwood: a 13-year-old female saying her 16-year-old sister “just ruined her room because she stole her vape.”30 The dispatcher confirmed the parties were already separated at the time of the call.31
2:19 a.m. ECSO: “The Subject Is Now Hallucinating, Banging His Head Off a Wall”32
Erie County Sheriff’s patrol relayed a deteriorating mental-hygiene call at 2:19 a.m. without further address context on the air.32 Sheriff’s ops told the responding unit they could find more on EMS eleven minutes later.33
12:07 a.m. APD: “Could You Just Step Out With an Off-Duty Tongue on a Creek and Sweet Home for a Deer That Needs to Be Put Down in the Roadway?”34
A poetic late-night dispatch — the request for an off-duty officer to dispatch a struck deer at Tongue, Creek & Sweet Home — came in at 12:07 a.m.34 The unit reported “Betching a deer momentarily, to get any calls” ten minutes later.35
“Chris, You Just Tripled What Me and Jim Got the Last Three Hours.” — “I Guess I’m Just Lucky.”36
10:57 p.m. on the TPS BNIA Shuttle channel, after one driver (“30”) cleared a final three-passenger arrival run, an older voice on frequency razzed the night’s newcomer: “Chris, you just tripled what me and Jim got the last three hours.” The reply, in the same beat: “I guess I’m just lucky.”3637
4:29 p.m. APD: “Alarm at the Bornava Preschool, 25 Chateau Terrace — Coming From Classroom Door Number 3”38
A keyholder was responding to a single zoned alarm at the preschool — the classroom-door-three specificity is the kind of detail that makes the world feel tangible at 4:29 in the afternoon.38
2:22 a.m. Marine 7: “All Ready to Rip. Here We Go. Out for Check One” — 6,000 Gallons of Fuel On Board39
Bertha 23682 finished its briefing at 50 loads and zero empties before easing out into the night.4039
Regional Blotter
Basement Fire at the Dynasty Studio of Dance, 1236 Walden Avenue — Mutual Aid From Five Houses, Knocked Down in About 30 Minutes41
CFD dispatched a basement fire at 1236 Walden Avenue at 5:08 p.m., investigating smoke from the basement of the Dynasty Studio of Dance.41 Five minutes later, with smoke confirmed, command paged a cover/rescue assignment with engines from Euclid Avenue, Forks, Sloan, Highview, and Pine Hill, plus ladders from Cleveland Hill and Southline.42 Rescue 9 was on location assuming command at 5:28 p.m.;43 by 5:39 the crew was “starting for the hot spots,” with second-floor checks underway.44
9:26 p.m.: T-Hamburg FD Dispatched to 8406 Boston State Road, “Patchen, a Possible Structure Fire”45
A short single-unit dispatch with no escalation traffic captured on the scanner before the call wound down.45
6:02 p.m.: Two-Vehicle Rollover at 1236 Sweet Road Between Mill and Steyer, EAFD — “Multiple Calls”46
EAFD’s first transmissions called “two cars with me, rollover, unknown injuries.”47 Eastern 911 confirmed multiple callers on the same incident; command had all parties out of the vehicle by 6:07 p.m.48
4:29 p.m.: Cyclist on an E-Bike Hits a Car at 6277 Robinson Road in Cujumano’s — Knocked Out, Then Conscious49
NC Fire Dispatch initially recommended BLS, then upgraded to ALS once the rider came back around with minor lacerations.4950
11:49 p.m.: BFD Dispatched to 12 Clearmont Between West Sullivan and Dorchester for an Overdose51
Other Calls of Note
• 6:40 a.m.: Clarence Center residential fire alarm activation, 5425 Shadyside Drive — cleared, in service.52
• 6:44 a.m.: Akron EMS call, 37 Cedar Street.53
• 9:55 p.m.: Amherst Fire dispatched on a fire alarm activation at 6350 Main Street (Main-Transit response).54
• 7:11 p.m.: Niagara Falls air-base RIP team activated — routine residential alarm callbacks across NC FD Dispatch through the evening.55
• 12:43 a.m.: APD on Duncan reported a subject who “threw something on the ground and it’s actively burning — just a small little fire.” Out by 12:44.56
• 1:32 a.m.: Williamsville EMS to 153 Arendt Avenue between Chalmers and Standing — APD found the resident down during an unrelated parking-dog complaint.5758
• 4:49 p.m.: APD at 603 Allenhurst, Apt. B, on a larceny from a vehicle — dispatcher noted “extensive domestic history in that apartment.”59