BUFFALO, N.Y. — It’s been a tough week for the Buffalo Fire Department.
While responding to calls like the ones it received this week is part of the job, battling two two-alarm fires in the span of 36 hours can take a toll.
“They were very strenuous on the crews,” Buffalo Fire Commissioner William Renaldo told 2 On Your Side Thursday.
The challenging week started early Monday morning with crews responding to a two-alarm fire at The Old Pink where they were met with such intense flames and heavy smoke that they were unable to attack it from the inside.
No one was hurt, but the Allentown bar later had to be demolished.
“We work 24 [hours] on, and 24 [hours] off, so just keep your fingers crossed that the next shift will be a little lighter,” Renaldo said.
But that next shift only brought more of the same.
The same crew started their next shift in the Cobblestone District, arriving on the scene just before 8 p.m. and fighting another blaze well into the early hours of the next morning.
“It takes a toll,” Renaldo said. “The equipment that they wear weighs anywhere from 75 to 100 pounds.”
The commissioner said times like these are why certain resources are in place — like limiting firefighters to one bottle of oxygen at a time, having an EMS officer monitoring them on scene, and stressing hydration between fires.
Weeks like these are never easy, even making the profession’s proudest have to take a step back.