[Press Release]
The remaining fire crews from the Norampac / Greenpac fire located at 4400 Royal Avenue in the City of Niagara Falls have cleared the scene as of 12:22 pm yesterday September 25, 2014.
The Greenpac plant is up and running and Norampac is looking to be up and running as early as Sunday, September 28th, 2014.
To have these two facilities operating this soon following such an extensive fire is a credit to the Battalion Chiefs, Captains, Firefighters and mechanics of the city of Niagara Falls Fire Department, as well as all other responding Niagara County Fire Departments, and assisting personnel. Without their assistance, damages at these facilities would have been much greater.
I would like to thank all of the following that assisted us during the fire:
Frontier Fire Co. Lewiston #2 Fire Co.
Bergholz Fire Co. Niagara Active Fire Co.
Niagara Falls Air Reserve Barker Fire Co.
Upper Mountain Fire Co. Sanborn Fire Co.
Wolcottsville Fire Co. Terry’s Corners Fire Co.
Youngstown Fire Co.
St. Johnsburg Fire Co.
Director of Emergency Services & Fire Coordinator Jonathan Schultz was present every day at the scene assisting us with what we needed from the county. He is also a member of Upper Mountain Fire Company. He was actively battling the fire in a crucial area and was a great asset on the fire scene.
Mayor Paul Dyster was on the scene assessing the situation at numerous points of the fire and helping with logistics and media. He did an impeccable job handling these functions as it cleared the way for me to handle important fire fighting tactic issues.
Police Chief Brian Dalporto and his staff, the police officers of the Niagara Falls Police Department, assisted us throughout this fire as well, supplying us a command center, food, traffic control and extinguishing embers that traveled outside the fire area; preventing the fire from spreading further.
The plant managers and employees of Norampac / Greenpac assisted us during this fire at each facility and their expertise in the operations of these facilities was vital throughout the process.
There are too many to mention and I hope I am not forgetting to thank anyone. The citizens and businesses in the surrounding areas that brought us food and water from soon after the fire began until the day we finished, myself and members of the department give a very heartfelt thank you. Without this help I would have had to utilize command personnel to arrange to have those items available for all the people on the scene. Instead I was able to utilize them for important fire ground operations.
If I missed anyone I apologize.
As far as injuries, The City of Niagara Falls Fire Department had two injuries. Captain Brent Curcio sustained a shoulder injury as well as a fractured finger and at this time it is undetermined when he will return to work. Firefighter Gary Pochatko suffered a burn to his neck and is expected to return to work tomorrow 9/27/14.
The City of Niagara Falls Fire Department is still assessing all the damaged equipment, mostly several hoses that were damaged at the fire. Norampac / Greenpac kindly are working with us to replace these items. Upper Mountain Fire Co. will be having their Aerial Platform truck assessed for damages due to heat exposure. Wolcottsville Fire Co. reported a damaged rim and lugs on their tanker truck.
The City of Niagara Falls Fire Department was back in normal operation by 5pm on 9/25/14.
Photo by Andrea Megan
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