The WNY Listening Post

Monday, May 4, 2026 — P.M. Edition Window 02:56 → 14:56
Eyes on the wires. Ears to the radio. Twelve hours of trouble, faithfully reported.
Around The Neighborhood
Avoidable
Cutting Concrete Trips Alarm at Vacant Williamsville Build Site
Contractor mid–remodel sets off detector at 86 Hopkins Road; Amherst Fire orders a fire watch and clears the call.

At 13:50, Amherst Fire Dispatch tones out a fire alarm activation at 86 Hopkins Road in Williamsville (initially miscalled as “Hobson’s” on the radio).1 Clemson Engine 2 takes the call.2 On scene, crews report the building is currently unoccupied — “there’s nobody living there” — and that a contractor cutting concrete during remodeling work tripped the smoke detection.3 Dispatch marks the run avoidable and tells the crew to advise the contractor to maintain a fire watch while the work continues.4

Channel: Amherst Fire Dis · Williamsville · 13:50–14:03
Eggertsville
Two Fire Alarms in Two Minutes on Sheridan Drive

Amherst Fire Dispatch hops two near-back-to-back commercial alarms shortly after 10:38 — a “Tiger Soul” activation at 3105 Sheridan Drive5 and an Eggertsville activation paged out of station 12.6 Both clear without escalation.

Channel: Amherst Fire Dis · 10:38–10:39
Mulch Run
Tractor 19 Sent to Mulch Fire on Main–Transit

At 11:43, Amherst Fire pages a mulch fire near 405 International at the Main/Transit corridor; the caller reports several vehicles in the area.78 A standard Amherst nuisance call — mulch beds in landscaping islands smolder under spring sun — but worth flagging given the proximity to commercial frontage.

Channel: Amherst Fire Dis · 11:43
PD Investigation
Amherst PD: “Customer Has Been Harassing Her for Months”

Just before noon, Amherst PD takes a call describing a months-long pattern of harassment by a customer; responding officers note the subject is “not there now.”9 No address given on the channel; report appears informational rather than active.

Channel: Amherst PD · 11:56

Regional Blotter
Buffalo
Stove Fire on Prospect Avenue, 5 a.m.

BFD Ch1 dispatches to 878 Prospect (Massachusetts/Hampshire) for a reported issue with the stove in a rear apartment, called as a possible house fire.1011 Time-out 05:00.

Buffalo
Smell of Smoke at 7 Northland; Engines Race Each Other

BFD pages units to 7 Northland (Lonsdale/Wohlers) for an odor of smoke in the home; dispatch tells one engine, “you’ll probably beat us, so you go hot.”1213 Time-stamped 09:02.

Buffalo
EMS Outside the Walgreens at 650 Delaware

BFD Ch1 dispatches EMS to 650 Delaware Avenue — outside the Walgreens — at 03:32. Two patients ultimately requesting an ambulance on a follow-up.1415

East Aurora
Two-Car MVA on Davis Road

EAFD Dispatch tones a two-car motor vehicle accident at 905 Davis (Jewel Homewood/Manchester) at 12:29; mutual aid alerted to Hillcrest Mutual 8 and Orchard Park EMS.1617

Niagara Co.
Cardiac Arrest at Daybreak on Ridgewood Drive

NC FD Dispatch sends Bridge Corps EMS to 7112 Ridgewood Drive (Middleton/North Lex) at 04:19 for a male cardiac arrest — second caller reported she could not wake her husband and he was not breathing.18

Niagara Co.
Tunnel Road Fire Alarm Tones Out Linneville

NC FD Dispatch hits a fire alarm activation at 5176 Tunnel on the Creek Road (Tyndale/Iris), 11:52, repeating tones to Linneville.19

Niagara Co.
Sanborn EMS for 80–Year-Old at Buffalo Street

An ALS-priority call to 5878 Buffalo Street (Niagara/Maple) for an 80-year-old female with difficulty breathing “on accident with no relief” — double-tones, Tonawanda EMS air request.20

Genesee Co.
Fire Crew Hears “A Little Scream” from the Road

GenCo FD radio at 11:02 carries one of the day’s odder asides: “In 10 miles from the street, we heard a little scream. It was an old cop. We all heard it.”21 Transcript suggestive but unclear; included for situational awareness.


Overheard: The Wires
BNIA
“If The Door Is Closed, They Don’t Go.”
United ramp at the Buffalo airport hands down a brutal verdict on two passengers running for Chicago… in the form of an Irish blessing.

The exchange, in full, between United Ramp agents at 10:19: “I have a passenger, two passengers, actually, for Gainesville — I’m Chicago… May the light of Chicago be with you… If they make it, they make it. If the door is closed, they don’t go.”222324 By 11:37, a separate United agent is asking around the ramp “if anyone threw in a passport down there” — suggesting today’s travel was, indeed, not blessed for everyone.25

Channel: BNIA / United Ramp
BNIA
An Abbott–and–Costello Routine, Live From Delta Ramp

At 11:58, Delta Ramp at BNIA delivers a self-contained comedy bit: “And Tim Donovan’s not here.”“Sorry, I thought you said Tim Donovan.”“I did.”262728 The radio gods, listening, said nothing.

Channel: BNIA / Delta Ramp · 11:58
Site
Found Items: “Two Luggages and a Shoe, As Well As a Song”

A United Ramp agent on the airfield Site channel produces an inventory at 08:17 that no operations manual prepared anyone for: “I have two luggages and a shoe, as well as a song.”29 The song, like the shoe, is not further described.

Channel: Site / United Ramp · 08:17
Highmark
Buggies, Buggies, Everywhere — AHJ Wants In

HMS Security at the Highmark Stadium build site (Pegula construction) spends the morning herding contractors. The radio peak comes at 12:46: “For tomorrow’s cutoff with the buggies, we need to allow the AHJ to drive their buggy.”30 Earlier, supervisor Carlo waves through a GP Flooring crew for the A2 Field Club kitchen,31 and at 12:08, somewhere in the perimeter: “They must have snuck by us.”32

Channel: Sports Venues / HMS Security · 07:26–14:00
School Bus
“No Sebastian Today, But He Will Be There Tomorrow.”

From a Ken-Ton (KTUFSD) school bus channel at 07:16, a perfect three-line ritual: “No Sebastian today, but he will be there tomorrow.” — “Okay, thank you. You have made my day.”33 File under: small joys, dispatched at AM rush.

Channel: Schools (Erie) / KTUFSD · 07:16
Public Works
Depew Yard: A Full 8–Yarder, Apparently Overloaded

Depew Public Works on the radio at 04:58: “Wow, it’s a full 8 yarder that was overloaded that just — everything came up.”34 Pre-dawn dump-truck poetry; details unclear, the noun “everything” doing tremendous work.

Channel: Schools (Erie) / DepewPublic · 04:58
Paratransit
“Thank You, People on the Horse, I’m Christina.”

Para Ops dispatch on the regional simulcast at 07:23, mid-radio-handoff, lands one of those lines that only makes sense to whoever was on the other end: “Thank you, people on the horse, I’m Christina.”35

Channel: Simulcast / Para Ops · 07:23
Limo
“Saved the Stone For a Rainy Day.”

BuffaloLimo, repurposed for hauling, at 07:25: “Going dirt to the dump site today, saved the stone for a rainy day.”36 A philosophy.

Channel: Taxis / BuffaloLimo · 07:25

By The Numbers

  • Total segments1,295
  • Active systems29
  • Window02:56–14:56
  • Busiest hour11:00 (180)
  • Top: Amherst-Clarence419
  • Municipalities144
  • Erie County129
  • Simulcast102
  • Taxis86
  • Schools (Erie)83
  • Niagara County72
  • Tier Alpha hits0
  • Tier 1 (properties)0

Daily Gem

If they make it, they make it. If the door is closed, they don’t go.”

— United Ramp, BNIA · 10:19 · on two passengers sprinting for Chicago

Editor’s Note

A busy late-morning across Western New York — 1,295 segments and the heaviest traffic of the day stacked into the 11 a.m. hour — but a quiet day in terms of real incidents. No watchlist properties tripped, no Williamsville address on the wire beyond a contractor-set fire alarm at a vacant remodel on Hopkins Road, and no Tier Alpha hits. Erie County leaned routine: a stove-fire response on Prospect, an odor-of-smoke run on Northland, a multi-car accident in East Aurora. The personality of the day lives at BNIA, where ramp agents conducted theology, comedy, and a search for a lost passport on the open air.

Sources — Audio Files Cited

  1. [13:50] Amherst-Clarence / Amherst Fire Dis — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Amherst-Clarence\05-04-26 13-50-03 - Amherst-Clarence - Amherst Fire Dis TO 13-50-07.mp3
  2. [13:55] Amherst-Clarence / Amherst Fire Dis — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Amherst-Clarence\05-04-26 13-55-21 - Amherst-Clarence - Amherst Fire Dis TO 13-55-25.mp3
  3. [14:03] Amherst-Clarence / Amherst Fire Dis — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Amherst-Clarence\05-04-26 14-03-15 - Amherst-Clarence - Amherst Fire Dis TO 14-03-23.mp3
  4. [14:03] Amherst-Clarence / Amherst Fire Dis — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Amherst-Clarence\05-04-26 14-03-34 - Amherst-Clarence - Amherst Fire Dis TO 14-03-41.mp3
  5. [10:38] Amherst-Clarence / Amherst Fire Dis — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Amherst-Clarence\05-04-26 10-38-57 - Amherst-Clarence - Amherst Fire Dis TO 10-39-04.mp3
  6. [10:39] Amherst-Clarence / Amherst Fire Dis — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Amherst-Clarence\05-04-26 10-39-16 - Amherst-Clarence - Amherst Fire Dis TO 10-39-22.mp3
  7. [11:43] Amherst-Clarence / Amherst Fire Dis — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Amherst-Clarence\05-04-26 11-43-07 - Amherst-Clarence - Amherst Fire Dis TO 11-43-11.mp3
  8. [11:43] Amherst-Clarence / Amherst Fire Dis — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Amherst-Clarence\05-04-26 11-43-27 - Amherst-Clarence - Amherst Fire Dis TO 11-43-31.mp3
  9. [11:56] Amherst-Clarence / Amherst PD — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Amherst-Clarence\05-04-26 11-56-44 - Amherst-Clarence - Amherst PD TO 11-56-48.mp3
  10. [04:59] Erie County / BFD Ch1 Disp — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Erie County\05-04-26 04-59-53 - Erie County - BFD Ch1 Disp TO 04-59-58.mp3
  11. [05:00] Erie County / BFD Ch1 Disp — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Erie County\05-04-26 05-00-08 - Erie County - BFD Ch1 Disp TO 05-00-18.mp3
  12. [09:02] Erie County / BFD Ch1 Disp — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Erie County\05-04-26 09-02-43 - Erie County - BFD Ch1 Disp TO 09-02-49.mp3
  13. [09:02] Erie County / BFD Ch1 Disp — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Erie County\05-04-26 09-02-51 - Erie County - BFD Ch1 Disp TO 09-02-59.mp3
  14. [03:32] Erie County / BFD Ch1 Disp — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Erie County\05-04-26 03-32-36 - Erie County - BFD Ch1 Disp TO 03-32-40.mp3
  15. [03:56] Erie County / BFD Ch1 Disp — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Erie County\05-04-26 03-56-49 - Erie County - BFD Ch1 Disp TO 03-56-55.mp3
  16. [12:29] Municipalities / EAFD Dispatch — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Municipalities\05-04-26 12-29-20 - Municipalities - EAFD Dispatch TO 12-29-25.mp3
  17. [12:35] Municipalities / EAFD Dispatch — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Municipalities\05-04-26 12-35-28 - Municipalities - EAFD Dispatch TO 12-35-34.mp3
  18. [04:19] Niagara County / NC FD Dispatch — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Niagara County\05-04-26 04-19-59 - Niagara County - NC FD Dispatch TO 04-20-09.mp3
  19. [11:52] Niagara County / NC FD Dispatch — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Niagara County\05-04-26 11-52-14 - Niagara County - NC FD Dispatch TO 11-52-23.mp3
  20. [07:12] Niagara County / NC FD Dispatch — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Niagara County\05-04-26 07-12-28 - Niagara County - NC FD Dispatch TO 07-12-37.mp3
  21. [11:02] Genesee County / GenCo FD — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Genesee County\05-04-26 11-02-05 - Genesee County - GenCo FD TO 11-02-14.mp3
  22. [10:19] BNIA / United Ramp — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\BNIA\05-04-26 10-19-19 - BNIA - United Ramp TO 10-19-24.mp3
  23. [10:19] BNIA / United Ramp — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\BNIA\05-04-26 10-19-25 - BNIA - United Ramp TO 10-19-34.mp3
  24. [10:19] BNIA / United Ramp — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\BNIA\05-04-26 10-19-34 - BNIA - United Ramp TO 10-19-44.mp3
  25. [11:37] BNIA / United Ramp — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\BNIA\05-04-26 11-37-17 - BNIA - United Ramp TO 11-37-20.mp3
  26. [11:58] BNIA / Delta Ramp — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\BNIA\05-04-26 11-57-59 - BNIA - Delta Ramp TO 11-58-05.mp3
  27. [11:58] BNIA / Delta Ramp — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\BNIA\05-04-26 11-57-59 - BNIA - Delta Ramp TO 11-58-05.mp3
  28. [11:58] BNIA / Delta Ramp — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\BNIA\05-04-26 11-57-59 - BNIA - Delta Ramp TO 11-58-05.mp3
  29. [08:17] Site / United Ramp — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Site\05-04-26 08-17-22 - Site - United Ramp TO 08-17-25.mp3
  30. [12:46] Sports Venues / HMS Security — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Sports Venues\05-04-26 12-46-30 - Sports Venues - HMS Sercurity TO 12-46-38.mp3
  31. [07:26] Sports Venues / HMS Security — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Sports Venues\05-04-26 07-26-29 - Sports Venues - HMS Sercurity TO 07-26-38.mp3
  32. [12:08] Sports Venues / HMS Security — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Sports Venues\05-04-26 12-08-30 - Sports Venues - HMS Sercurity TO 12-08-36.mp3
  33. [07:16] Schools (Erie) / KTUFSD — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Schools (Erie)\05-04-26 07-16-28 - Schools (Erie) - KTUFSD TO 07-16-36.mp3
  34. [04:58] Schools (Erie) / DepewPublic — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Schools (Erie)\05-04-26 04-58-31 - Schools (Erie) - DepewPublic TO 04-58-40.mp3
  35. [07:23] Simulcast / Para Ops — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Simulcast\05-04-26 07-23-56 - Simulcast - Para Ops TO 07-23-58.mp3
  36. [07:25] Taxis / BuffaloLimo — E:\ProScan Recordings\05-04-26\Taxis\05-04-26 07-25-20 - Taxis - BuffaloLimo TO 07-25-30.mp3