Grand Island, NY (WBEN) There is debate in Grand Island on whether to shift fire dispatch to Erie County. One town board member believes it's a good idea to look into it, while a firefighter says it's not the way to go.
Town Board member Dan Kilmer says it began as a fact finding matter. "The fire department wanted to change to a special district, and in that special district budget, it showed dispatch going up to $840,000 a year that would be manning it with two people," says Kilmer. He says the town board voted unanimously to form a committee to determine whether it's cost effective and and maintain the security for residents.
Kilmer says he's in favor of taking a look, saying Erie County has a much more sophisticated system. "It would protect our residents better. And 2026 they're installing another program, which the county has already purchased, that basically, if you're walking through Buckhorn State Park and you had something happen, a medical emergency, they would be able to pinpoint where you are based on your call from your cell phone," explains Kilmer. He adds all calls go to Erie County first, then routed back to Grand Island for fire protection. "If it's sheriff or something or police, those get those get dispatched right from Erie County. So realistically, we're moving towards what Monroe County does. Niagara County does, I believe the the entire state of Idaho has, one dispatch."
He says there are two sets of numbers he's looking at "Dispatch costs approximately $350,000 and if we go to the mandated two dispatchers, that would elevate the budget to $840,000 and the county has come in and said they could do it for anywhere between $60,000 to $80,000 so it's somewhere around a $720,000 a year savings for the taxpayers," says Kilmer.
One person who disagrees with this is Peter Coppola with Grand Island Fire. "The Grand Island Fire Company, for the last 40 years, has run a very comprehensive fire dispatch system. We did this because we realized that the local delivery of this service is so important, not only for protecting the residents of Grand Island, but also our firefighters," says Coppola. "I'd like to point out that Grand Island fire offers more services for a Volunteer Fire Company than any other one in Western New York, and we're doing it at the at the one of the lowest, if not the lowest, fire tax rates."
Coppola says Kilmer's support of looking into moving dispatch out of Grand Island shows he doesn't understand how a volunteer fire company works. "Every other municipality in Erie County of equal size or larger than Grand Island has a dedicated fire dispatch center. Why they want to send it to Erie County that has no experience dispatching fire is beyond belief. And I'd also like to point out that the only other municipality that doesn't do have their own dedicated fire dispatch is the town of Clarence, and they contract for a significant amount of money to Amherst to do that," says Coppola.
Coppola says It's very important for dispatchers to know the town. "They know the fire company, that the fire dispatch and the fire company are intertwined. We're really one, and then it's so important, because communication in any situation is incredibly important," adds Coppola.
Kilmer says today's technology doesn't require dispatchers to be based in the same town. "I would say, 20 years ago, the guy that has a local knowledge of the island did make a lot more sense. But with GPS and and our local firefighters, they know our island. Firefighters know the island that's where the geographical knowledge is necessary the fire the guy that gets in the fire engine is going to the address that it's dispatched to," says Kilmer.
Kilmer adds there's been fearmongering on social media. "I don't engage in the social media thing, but I like reading it, and I read most people's comments. I think we need to have that," believes Kilmer. "We need to have that, I hate to use the word, a bloodbath of putting out all the fake information and then, and then I'm going to come through and I'm going to give out the real information to the residents, and hopefully I'll get a three I'll get three votes on the town board." He says he want the matter to take its natural course so residents can believe they've had their voices heard.
