Lakewood Village Board meeting (July 11, 2022)

The Village of Lakewood is investigating whether to establish an EMS Department in order to bill for EMS ambulance service in the village.

Trustee Ellen Barnes said the discussion was informational at this point, “So we can bring the information, not only to the public but to the different members of the Fire Department. They have a ton of questions. They’re the ones who go out there and do all the hard work, so obviously we want them to ask the questions – How is this going to work and how does it involve them, and rightfully so.”

The Village Board passed a resolution at a special meeting on Thursday, July 7 authorizing the investigation. The village’s Fire Department is staffed by volunteer members.

Photo Credit: Lakewood Fire Department

Officials are investigating the cause of a fatal accident in the village of Lakewood Friday night. The Lakewood Fire Department posted on social media that they were called to a vehicle fire near the Lakewood Community Dog Park just before 9pm Friday. Crews found a pick-up truck on fire 30 yards off the road in a wooded area with electrical wires down.

Firefighters extinguished the flames and responders discovered the truck had been heavily damaged by impact with human remains inside.

The remains were recovered and transferred to the Chautauqua County Coroner. Lakewood Fire Department was assisted by Lakewood-Busti Police, Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, the Fire Investigation Team, and National Grid.

According to the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, the fire at 735 Hunt Road broke out just before 8 a.m. Tuesday morning inside a garage on the property.

Sheriff Gerace came across the blaze while driving to Mayville as the homeowner was calling 911. After learning no other people or animals were in harms way, the Sheriff and homeowner were able to remove lawnmowers and an all-terrain vehicle from the garage before firefighters arrived.

The blaze was extinguished by members of the Lakewood Fire Department and mutual aid companies and no Injuries were reported.

The fire, which was ruled accidental due to an overheated electric outlet, destroyed the garage and damaged a nearby home.

The Lakewood Fire Department applied for this funding on behalf of the Ashville, Busti, Celeron, Clymer, Frewsburg, Jamestown, Kiantone, Panama, and Lakewood Fire Departments. The money was allocated through the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program (AFG) and will be used to purchase mobile radio units that will be fitted in fire trucks to allow better communication between law enforcement and other fire departments during multiple-alarm fires.

This funding will aid the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s office in putting its new $6 million radio system—which will soon be operational—into practice and allow fire departments across the county to better communicate during emergency situations.