An Evans Street resident remains hospitalized after being rescued from his burning apartment by Williamsville firefighters Friday morning.
Vello Puust, 87, who occupies a second-floor apartment at 327 Evans St., was found unconscious and unresponsive by Williamsville firefighters Greg Smith and James Christopher.
The company was alerted to the fire just before 9 a.m. Williamsville Chief Richard Maddigan arrived just a few minutes later.
“I saw nothing when I pulled up, but I could smell it [smoke],” he said.
“A neighbor came up to me and said there might be someone inside, upstairs.”
Ascending the short staircase, Maddigan noticed the smell of smoke was stronger. He felt the metal door to the apartment just off the landing and made a critical discovery.
“It was hot — very hot,” he said.
Williamsville Engine 1 arrived shortly thereafter and the crew assembled to extinguish the fire and search for victims.
They found the seat of the fire just inside the door. Fortunately, Maddigan said, no other doors or windows were open, which prevented the fire from extending.
Working their way through cluttered conditions, Smith and Christopher knocked down the flames and continued their search toward the opposite end of the room. There, Smith found the victim slumped near a chair. He was unresponsive and in cardiac arrest.
Members of the Snyder Fire Department, automatically dispatched with Williamsville, assisted in bringing the victim outside, where a crew from Twin City Ambulance was already waiting to initiate care.
They administered CPR to the victim for several minutes before wheeling him to the ambulance, where advanced life-saving efforts were continued. He soon regained a pulse and had sporadic breathing, Maddigan said.
Puust was transported to the ECMC trauma unit in serious condition, according to Amherst Police.
“Thanks to our manpower response and training, everything just fell into place. I couldn’t ask for a better outcome,” Maddigan said.
Also responding to the call was a crew from the Main-Transit Fire Department.
Total damage was estimated at $70,000.
9 entries in the Call History
Saturday night we responded to a report of a vehicle fire inside an attached garage on Wellington Ct. Upon arrival there was smoke showing and a fire in the engine compartment. The owner attempted to extinguish the fire before our arrival, which helped suppress the flames. Fortunately, the fire was contained to the vehicle and didn’t spread to the structure. The residence just sustained some smoke damage. No injuries reported. Thanks to Snyder Fire Dept and Main-Transit f...
An Evans Street resident remains hospitalized after being rescued from his burning apartment by Williamsville firefighters Friday morning.Vello Puust, 87, who occupies a second-floor apartment at 327 Evans St., was found unconscious and unresponsive by Williamsville firefighters Greg Smith and James Christopher.The company was alerted to the fire just before 9 a.m. Williamsville Chief Richard Maddigan arrived just a few minutes later.“I saw nothing when I pulled up, but I could smell it [s...
Williamsville Firefighters were called to the scene of a one car MVA on April 7th, 2019 at approximately 3:30 am. Upon arrival of first arriving emergency personnel, the vehicle was engulfed in fire and threatening the nearby building of Village Artisan and Bee Newspapers office. Thankfully a bystander pulled the driver out of the vehicle to safety. Firefighters were quickly on scene to render care to the driver and extinguish the fire without any fire damage to building.
Wheelchair fire forces nursing home’s evacuationby KEATON T. DEPRIEST Associate Editor, Amherst Bee An electric wheelchair caught fire on Christmas night, forcing the evacuation of about 45 residents through smoke-filled halls at St. Francis of Williamsville.Williamsville firefighters responded to the nursing home facility, located at 147 Reist St. in the Village of Williamsville, at about 9 p.m. Thursday and found heavy smoke conditions in one of the wings of the ...
The sound of an activated smoke detector is credited with alerting a Williamsville resident to a fire in her home on Friday evening.Williamsville Fire Chief Michael Measer said the company was alerted to a report of a couch fire at 80 Creek Road about 8:20 p.m. He said the fire had spread to adjacent curtains and a table, and that smoke had filled the room.Where's the story?2 Points MentionedFire Inspector Tony Schueckler determined that the resident had lit a small votiv...
Williamsville Firefighters responded early this morning at 0533 Hrs for a report of a garage fire on Troy Del Way. Williamsville 9-2 went on location reporting a fully involved attached garage. Command reported possible extension into the dwelling & Engine 2 reported a partial collapse of the garage on the #4 side. Mutual aid companies were Main-Transit (FAST) & Snyder (Engine to the scene & Engine for fill in). The main body of fire was knocked down in 48 minutes. ...
9 entries in the Call History