PHOTOS: When changing a light bulb can be sort of a 'big deal'
Crews replace the signal light atop the 'round house' water intake at the head of the Niagara River
Aircraft Commander
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary
Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Changing a light bulb turns into a pretty big deal when it's high atop a more than 100 year old water intake in the middle of the water where the Niagara River meets Lake Erie.
Most who live in the Buffalo-Niagara region have gazed out at the 'roundhouse' water intake, the red-roofed structure situated at the head of the Niagara River between Buffalo and Fort Erie, and wondered what it's like out there. And wondered what it 'does'.
On a foggy Wednesday morning, a small crew embarked on a journey aboard the Fireboat E M Cotter to replace a new fixture that serves as a navigational signal atop the historic structure.
The 'roundhouse' is where water enters a giant pipeline that leads underneath the Niagara River and carries water ashore at the Col. Ward Pumping Station at the foot of Porter Avenue.
Captain John Sixt navigated the fireboat from its slip along Michigan Avenue down the Buffalo River and across the Buffalo Harbor to a pier connected to the round house.
Workers then entered the round house and scaled a steep staircase and vertical ladder that leads to the very top of the structure to remove the old fixture and replace with a new one.
The maintenance mission is one of several trips the Cotter makes to the roundhouse periodically to allow crews to perform work and is just one function of the historic boat that serves as a working fireboat and icebreaking vessel along the Buffalo waterfront. The Cotter is the oldest active vessel of its type in the country.
The Cotter is maintained in large part by the Fireboat E M Cotter Conservancy and the two paid active duty crew is supported by a group of dedicated and skilled volunteers who assist the ships activities which include the work missions as well as private fundraising functions.
