Archive: News

The Lansing Fire Department responded to 24 calls in a three hour period when the storm hit Lansing on August 24th.  That storm dramatically snapped five utility poles near the school campus and Lansing United Methodist Church, and downed trees and power lines all over town.  Those calls raise the total for the month significantly in a month that already tallies a high number of calls.  "For the month of August we had a total of 143 calls, 24 of them were storm calls on August 24th in a three hour period," says Chief Scott Purcell.  "77 were responses to fire, 63 Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and 3 EMS not responded to."

When a 911 call comes into the Emergency Response Center on Brown Road, dispatchers signal Lansing fire fighters and EMS volunteers to respond.  Those who can leave their jobs or who can make themselves available respond to the calls, often working in tandem with Bangs Ambulance, or other emergency response agencies such as fire departments from neighboring towns.  The 911 dispatcher will send a second call to Lansing if there are no responses, and then, if there are still no responses, call a neighboring agency.


Considering that the Lansing department is made up entirely of volunteers it is remarkable that only three calls, or 2.1% of August emergency calls, were not responded to.  Lansing volunteers take pride in the department, and in responding to a high percentage of alarms.  And that is not unusual for the department.  In July only one call wasn't answered, meaning that 99.18% of the 122 calls were responded to by Lansing volunteers.

The last two months have seen more calls than usual, bringing the year's total to date to 731 through the end of August.  Last year there were just over 900 calls, so it is likely that the number will be higher this year.  Department officials say that about half the calls come from the Village of Lansing, many coming from the Shops at Ithaca Mall (formerly Pyramid Mall).

When the storm hit about 1200 homes lost power.  Trees were downed all over town, some knocking out power lines.  Calls to NYSEG for trees leaning against power lines were given lower priority than to homes whose power was actually out.  Considering the extent of the damage, residents were generally pleased at the speed with which the company responded.  Replacement poles were trucked to the Methodist Church the evening of the storm, and power was restored to most homes within a day's time.

Most calls to Lansing fire fighters involved managing the damage.  "We responded to trees down, wires, roads blocked," Purcell says.  "But mostly it was trees and wires down."

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