east pembroke

A man inside outside a silo on West Main Street Road, Batavia has reportedly fallen approximately 40 feet and suffered a leg injury.

He is conscious and alert.

Mercy Flight #7 out of Batavia is in route.

East Pembroke fire and Mercy EMS on scene.

CORRECTION: The patient fell outside of the silo.

A tree has fallen into a house at 2392 Killian Road, East Pembroke.

There are wires involved but there is no arcing or sparking.

No injuries reported.

East Pembroke fire dispatched.

A vehicle reportedly struck a tree and rolled over in the area of 1677 Main Road, East Pembroke.

There is heavy damage to the vehicle, according to a first responder, but the occupant is reported out and walking around.

East Pembroke fire and Mercy EMS responding.

Monday night is training night for most volunteer fire departments but last night in East Pembroke it was gear inspection night.

For the first time, the annual inspection was conducted in the department's new $3.5 million fire hall.

East Pembroke isn't running calls out of the hall yet. They're not quite settled in. The Internet was just hooked up today. The emergency radio has yet to be installed. And there is a lot of equipment yet to move over from the old hall. Chief Don Newton expects the new hall to be in service in about three weeks.

The department will host an open house in the early spring.

Gear inspection is all about ensuring there are no holes, tears or worn spots in any of the three layers of a firefighter's suit that provides thermal protection.  

Newton explained that East Pembroke buys three sets of gear -- boots, hat, jacket, pants and gloves -- every year. That's an annual cost of up to $17,000.  

But it's got to be done. Worn and damaged gear is a danger to firefighters and state regulations require interior firefighters to use gear that is less than 10 years old.

East Pembroke is starting to rotate interior gear every eight years. That leaves two years of life left on the old gear. It can by used by new volunteers while they go through training and it provides back up gear for a firefighter who might wind up with damaged gear before new gear is purchased.

Monday, members also brought in their Class A uniforms for inspection and inventory.

An example of a hole torn in a layer of thermal protection. This suit was being taken out of service.

The new hall has six bays, with two additional backdoors. Those two longer bays can potentially hold two trucks, giving the hall the capability of parking eight trucks.

The developer of a proposed Dollar General Store in East Pembroke was willing to do a little trading with the Town of Batavia Planning Board on Tuesday night.

If the town will let him reduce the number of parking spaces from 47 to something closer to 30 he would ensure there is a sidewalk installed along Route 5 in front of the store.

"I would be more than willing to remove the parking spaces, whether it gets down to 30 or some number down there that makes sense based on the layout," said Todd Hamula of the Zaremba Group. "Then I'd stripe across here to a sidewalk that I would build either on the property or just in the DOT right of way."

Quickly, plans were made then for Hamula to rework is the site plan and get it before the County Planning Board again -- which last week recommended a sidewalk be included in the project -- and then in front of the town's Zoning Board of Appeals before coming back to the town planning board again in a month.

The ZBA would need to approve a variance for the reduced parking because the current zoning code requires a building of the type and size of the proposed Dollar General to have at least 47 parking spaces.

Hamula said that anybody who has frequently driven past a Dollar General knows there's usually only an average of five or six cars parked out front most of the time.

The Town of Batavia is in the process of reworking its comprehensive plan and adopting a planning philosophy known as form-based code. 

One of the goals of the process is to make East Pembroke a more walkable community, which means sidewalks are needed.

Paul McCullough, board member and East Pembroke resident, spoke up in favor of making the hamlet more walkable and argued in favor of a sidewalk installed with the construction of the Dollar General.

He expressed concern that the presence of the store would cause people to walk on Route 5, which is busy with fast moving traffic and isn't well lit at night.

"Let's at least get that section in and then figure out how to get that extra 100 feet in," McCullough said.

At that point, Hamula said he was amenable to working something out.

The store will be 7,100 square feet and will become the seventh Dollar General in Genesee County.

McCullough said in his informal survey of East Pembroke residents, people are excited about the potential of the store opening.

A proposed new Dollar General store for East Pembroke should meet the goal of making the hamlet more walkable, according to county planners.

That would mean removing parking from the front of the building and bringing the structure closer to the sidewalk.

Last night, the County Planning Board approved the site review with that recommendation. It will be up to the Town of Batavia's Planning Board to decide whether to implement the recommendation.

Planning Director Felipe A. Oltramari explained that the Town of Batavia is adopting form-based planning as part of its comprehensive plan and has already adopted a policy that should help the town, which includes East Pembroke, become a walkable community. 

East Pembroke currently scores a 15 at WalkScore.com and is considered car-dependent.

Since the policy is not yet part of the town's codes, the Planning Board could only make a recommendation and not take a stronger stand.

There are already six Dollar General stores in Genesee County.

This location will be on Main Road at Barrett Drive.

The developer is Zarembra Group Inc., based in Cleveland, Ohio.

The single-story building will be 9,100 square feet.

Press release:

There will be a Pancake Breakfast & Pictures with Santa on Sunday, Dec. 10^th at St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish in East Pembroke.

Please bring your camera for a picture with Santa and receive a gift bag.

Time is 9 a.m. to noon. Church is located at 8656 Church St., East Pembroke.

Breakfast includes: pancakes, sausage, applesauce and a beverage.

Adults -- $6; children 5 to 12 -- $4; and children 4 and under eat free.

Any questions, please contact Penny at 356-3413.

Press release:

Genesee County Highway Department will be replacing the Pratt Road bridge over the Tonawanda Creek, with a likely construction start date of May 2019.

As a design of the replacement is underway, a public information meeting regarding the project will be held at 7 p.m. on Dec. 7th at the East Pembroke Fire Hall, located at 2623 E. Main Road in the Town of Batavia.

Timothy J. Hens, P.E.
Highway Superintendent

A motor-vehicle accident with injuries and entrapment is reported at 2745 Pearl Street Road (Route 33) at the intersection of Wilkinson Road in West Batavia. East Pembroke Fire Department and Mercy medics are responding. The availability of Mercy Flight is being checked.

"We believe the vehicle may be underneath a tractor-trailer," says a dispatcher.  "...Multiple vehicles." A BLS ambulance out of Darien is called for evaluations of patients. Fire police from Corfu are asked to shut down traffic on Route 33 at Read Road; Town of Batavia Fire Department is asked to close Route 33 at Hopkins Road.

UPDATE 1:26 p.m.: This is a fatal accident. More T/K.

Smoke in the residence is reported at 9430 Ridge Road, East Pembroke. East Pembroke Fire Department is responding and mutual aid from Darien and Corfu is requested.

The cause is a possible lightning strike at the residence. A first responder reports debris in the roadway and advises responders to approach with caution. Code enforcement is requested; there appears to be electrical damage inside the residence.

UPDATE 2:46 a.m.: A thermal camera will be used to try and detect heat in the walls.

UPDATE 2:59 a.m.: The code enforcement officer has a 30-minute ETA.

UPDATE 3:13 a.m.: Corfu is back in service.

Press release:

The Batavia Police Department will be participating in the DEA’s 2017 National Prescription Drug Take-Back initiative on Saturday, Oct. 28.

The event will be held in the rear parking lot of the Batavia Police Department (10 W. Main St.) between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Citizens can turn in their unwanted, unneeded, or expired prescription drugs for safe disposal.

The National Prescription Drug Take-Back addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Many Americans are not aware that medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse, and abuse. Rates of prescription drug abuse in the United States are at alarming rates, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs.

Studies show that many abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, many Americans do not know how to properly dispose of their unused medicine, often flushing them down the toilet or throwing them away – both potential safety and health hazards.

Two other disposal sites are in Genesee County, and these also have collection hours between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. tomorrow.

• Sheriff's deputies will staff collection at Pembroke Town Highway Barns, routes 5 & 77, East Pembroke
• Le Roy Police at Village Hall, 3 W. Main St., Village of Le Roy (near routes 5 & 19)

(For previously posted press release on how this initiative helps the Great Lakes and New York waterways, click here.)

The students at Pembroke Elementary School in East Pembroke learned about fire services and fire prevention today.

The participating agencies included East Pembroke fire, Pembroke fire, Indian Falls fire, Corfu fire, Town of Batavia fire, Mercy Flight, and Emergency Services.

Reader submitted photos.

A possible residential structure fire is reported at 2317 Angling Road, Corfu. East Pembroke fire is responding along with mutual aid from Town of Batavia and Corfu fire departments. The location is between West Avenue and North Angling Road.

UPDATE 5:31 p.m.: Photos and info from Alecia Kaus/Video News Service: The homeowner was attempting to smoke out bees and his house caught on fire. It got into the attic; a quick response by volunteer firefighters kept the fire from spreading.

Press release:

Please take notice that a workshop meeting will be conducted by the East Pembroke Fire District from 7 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 5^th at the East Pembroke Fire Hall, located at 2623 W. Main Road, East Pembroke.

Purpose of the meeting is 2018 Fire District Budget.