2017 Brings Change to First Responders in Webster

Happy New Year to all of you! As we kick off 2017, there is much noteworthy news to share regarding first responders in Webster.

Starting in the West, West Webster welcomes Vince Pratt as Chief of the Department. Chief Pratt is taking the reigns over from Chief Jim Deisenroth, who led the West Webster Fire Department for the last 6 years, an incredible tenure for a volunteer Chief. I’ll talk more about Chief Deisenroth and all his accomplishments in a future article. West Webster and it’s 120+ volunteer members continues to provide Fire and basic ambulance transport service in West Webster and Northwest Penfield. In 2017, West Webster will also break ground on a new Station 1, located on Gravel Rd near Ridge.

Webster Fire Department, led by returning Chief Chris Smith, is now covering all fire calls in the east side of Webster as Union Hill transitions to a Wayne County department. Union Hill had been covering a small part of East Webster, from Salt Rd to County Line, and that is now all being covered by Webster Fire. With the addition of Webster’s new station on Phillips Rd, and their 80+ volunteers, citizens in the North East Joint Fire District should see no decrease in service, and I understand that because of the large number of volunteers living close to the new station, response times to many calls has improved.

I’m not aware of any changes in the Webster Police department, led by Chief Joe Rieger. I can tell you with certainty that our Webster Police Department is an incredible asset in our community. Not only do many of the officers live in town and have great rapport with many of the citizens in our community but they also spend quite a bit of time, in addition to their policing duties, supporting the fire and EMS personnel in town. Whether it’s watching our backs at accidents, ensuring scenes are safe at potentially dangerous EMS calls such as domestic disturbances, psychiatric emergencies or some of the many drug overdoses we respond to, the officers also lend a hand on some medical calls. Chief Rieger and his officers in Webster do much more than many of us know and we are lucky to have them.

Northeast Quadrant Advanced Life Support continues to provide Advanced Life Support service in our community. Having paramedics close by to interface with the local ambulance services means that all of you have access to some of the best emergency medical care in the county, quickly.  Whether it’s with one of the two Town-based BLS ambulance services, West Webster Fire Dept’s ambulance or the recently launched Webster Emergency Medical Service, or with our neighboring Wayne County agency Union Hill Ambulance, Webster residents have the benefit of top level EMS care coming to them within minutes of their need. In 2017, NEQALS continues its capital campaign to build a base on Jackson Rd. To support that effort, please visit NEQ’s website at NEQALS.org.

Lastly, it’s worth mentioning a few individuals by name. Tim Kohlmeier has been named Emergency Manager for Monroe County, overseeing the Office of Emergency Management. This is a very prestigious and important role, and we should all congratulate Tim on being appointed to this position. Mark Cholach, past Chief of West Webster was promoted to Assistant Fire Coordinator for the Monroe County Fire Bureau. Tom Indiano and Steve Andrews both serve as Monroe County Deputy Fire Coordinators. In addition to Tim, Mark, Tom and Steve, we also have several people from Webster playing key roles within the County Emergency Services, including several at the 911 Emergency Communications Center, which handles 911 calls for Monroe County. We also have a few folks from Webster at the Radio Center, ensuring that all first responders can communicate with each other during emergencies. More to follow on some of these folks in future articles.

As has been mentioned before, Webster is fortunate to have such a strong, well-integrated First Responder community, with many members active not only in our town but also at the County Level. In the coming weeks we’ll discuss each agency in detail. Until then, please take a moment to thank one of the many Police Officers, Fire Fighters, EMTs and Paramedics that help make Webster the place where Life is Worth Living!

Syed Ahmed Mustafa is Chairman of the Webster Emergency Responder Council, President and Paramedic at Northeast Quadrant Advanced Life Suppor, Inc, and a Captain in the West Webster Fire Department.