{"id":53566,"date":"2024-05-30T18:11:06","date_gmt":"2024-05-30T22:11:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/?p=53566"},"modified":"2024-05-30T18:11:06","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T22:11:06","slug":"genesee-county-pembroke-fire-chief-taking-proactive-approach-toward-idea-of-merger-with-neighboring-departments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2024\/05\/30\/genesee-county-pembroke-fire-chief-taking-proactive-approach-toward-idea-of-merger-with-neighboring-departments\/","title":{"rendered":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Pembroke fire chief taking proactive approach toward idea of merger with neighboring departments"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>
\n

By Mike Pettinella
For Video News Service<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although a meeting planned for tonight has been postponed, the proactive approach of the Pembroke Fire District chief to address volunteer fire and emergency response issues on Genesee County\u2019s western end is still on the table.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Although a meeting planned for tonight has been postponed, the proactive approach of the Pembroke Fire District chief to address volunteer fire and emergency response issues on Genesee County\u2019s western end is still on the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pembroke Chief Jamie Waff today said a conflict with a fire training session at another location in the county forced him to call off a meeting with Corfu and East Pembroke fire representatives to discuss the possibility of consolidating services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the meeting has been rescheduled for the fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve reached out to the Corfu Fire District and the East Pembroke Fire District, just to basically have a meeting with the three fire districts that are involved in the Town of Pembroke to talk pros and cons of merging all three districts or just merging two of them,\u201d Waff said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fire and emergency response areas will come into play when discussing the possibility of a merger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs it stands, the Pembroke and Corfu fire districts are entirely in the Town of Pembroke, while the East Pembroke Fire District encompasses some of the Town of Pembroke and some of the Town of Batavia,\u201d he said. \u201cIt crosses town lines.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chief said he thinks the time has come to \u201cmaybe bring in Darien and Alabama, too, and see what we can do on the whole west end of the county.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll of us, in one way or another, are facing the lack of firefighters \u2013 the lack of new people joining,\u201d he offered. \u201cHonestly, the Pembroke Fire District and the Corfu Fire District are doing well for manpower right now, but as those districts start to age out \u2026 I, myself, have over 20 years in a chief\u2019s position in one way, shape or form.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Waff said his department is \u201cjust trying to be proactive and doing what’s best for manpower and for the community at large because you don\u2019t want to double up equipment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor anything major, we’re calling in a mutual aid department. So, if we’re already handling these major incidents with other companies coming in to assist, let’s discuss a merge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He then spelled out a proposal that would merge the Pembroke Fire District (which also includes Indian Falls) with Corfu and East Pembroke, drawing new district boundaries and splitting the EMS calls into thirds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEast Pembroke covers this part for EMS calls or the people out of Pembroke station covers this part,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you\u2019re one, and you have two medics in the Pembroke district and two medics in the Corfu district and three medics in East Pembroke\u2019s district, and Pembroke has an EMS call in their territory, you can then draw out of all of those seven medics instead of just two of them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said a merge could result in rotating weekend schedules among the three districts, alleviating the need for volunteers from a particular district to be on call every weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a related development, Waff said the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control has approved Pembroke\u2019s request to have fire and emergency calls dispatched to the Pembroke Fire District when it involves areas covered by the Pembroke and Indian Falls fire departments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No longer will calls be dispatched to Indian Falls, Waff said, although the operation of that department will remain the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the Indian Falls Fire Company was founded around 1956 and always has been governed by the Pembroke Fire District.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt’s always been the Pembroke Fire District — just two separate fire companies. But effective today, and it has been a two-year long process with the state, we finally got everything squared away at the county level. We are now known as the Pembroke Fire District,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOut in scanner land, you won’t hear Pembroke and Indian Falls getting dispatched anymore. It’s just going to be Pembroke getting dispatched as the Pembroke Fire District. The responses won’t change. It’ll still be stuff responding out of Pembroke and stuff responding out of Indian Falls.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Mike PettinellaFor Video News Service Although a meeting planned for tonight has been postponed, the proactive approach of the Pembroke Fire District chief to address volunteer fire and emergency response issues on Genesee County\u2019s western end is still on the table. Although a meeting planned for tonight has been \u2026<\/p>\n

Continue reading<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":53567,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23,108],"tags":[4357,4356],"class_list":["post-53566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-genesee-county","category-pembroke","tag-chief-jamie-waff","tag-fire-department-mergers"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8eTP4-dVY","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":68449,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2025\/09\/24\/genesee-county-legislature-commends-professionals-for-distinguished-service-in-response-to-bus-crash\/","url_meta":{"origin":53566,"position":0},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Legislature commends professionals for distinguished service in response to bus crash","author":"aka","date":"September 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"First responders and support personnel pose for a group photo with Genesee County legislators after being recognized on Wednesday afternoon by the legislature for their \u201cexceptional bravery, professionalism and dedication\u201d while responding to the tragic tour bus crash of Aug. 22 on the NYS Thruway in Pembroke. Photo by Mike\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Genesee County"","block_context":{"text":"Genesee County","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/genesee-county\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/thumbnail_20250924_180904-1.jpg?fit=1103%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/thumbnail_20250924_180904-1.jpg?fit=1103%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/thumbnail_20250924_180904-1.jpg?fit=1103%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/thumbnail_20250924_180904-1.jpg?fit=1103%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/thumbnail_20250924_180904-1.jpg?fit=1103%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":51628,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2024\/03\/17\/genesee-county-east-pembroke-volunteer-fire-department-2024-installation-and-awards-banquet\/","url_meta":{"origin":53566,"position":1},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/East Pembroke Volunteer Fire Department 2024 Installation and Awards Banquet","author":"aka","date":"March 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Members of the East Pembroke Fire Department 2024 Installation and Awards Banquet https:\/\/youtu.be\/gvitzk_7ibU Video of Awards Ceremony-March 16, 2024 Chief- Donald Newton Jr., Deputy Chief-Charles Chatley, Assistant Chief- Andrew Martin 2021 Service Award- Genesee County Health Department Firefighter of the year-Jennifer Groff 2022 Service Award- Genesee County Emergency Management Firefighter\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "East Pembroke"","block_context":{"text":"East Pembroke","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/east-pembroke-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/20240316_210019-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C464&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/20240316_210019-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C464&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/20240316_210019-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C464&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/20240316_210019-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C464&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/20240316_210019-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C464&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2016\/11\/29\/east-pembroke-fire-department-receive-utv\/","url_meta":{"origin":53566,"position":2},"title":"East Pembroke Fire Department Receive UTV","author":"aka","date":"November 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 GENESEE COUNTY\/East Pembroke Buck's motorsports and Can-Am team up to help provide the East Pembroke Fire Department with a UTV Jan Schafer, owner of Buck's Motorsports in Akron, has been looking to help out the East Pembroke Fire Department for a little while now. He lives in the fire\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "East Pembroke"","block_context":{"text":"East Pembroke","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/gennesse-county\/east-pembroke\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/story1.png?fit=647%2C342&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/story1.png?fit=647%2C342&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/story1.png?fit=647%2C342&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":74572,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2026\/04\/26\/genesee-county-pembroke-fire-district-installs-new-officers-at-annual-dinner\/","url_meta":{"origin":53566,"position":3},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Pembroke Fire District installs new officers at annual dinner","author":"aka","date":"April 26, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Deputy Director Gary Patnode with Genesee County Emergency Management swears in officers at the Pembroke Fire District Installation dinner on Saturday evening. The department responded to 287 calls this past year. 132 fire calls, 6 fire calls, 28 motor vehicle accidents, 23 car fires, 12 mutual aid calls, 47 good\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pembroke"","block_context":{"text":"Pembroke","link":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/category\/pembroke\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/20260425_190852-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C614&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/20260425_190852-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C614&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/20260425_190852-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C614&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/20260425_190852-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C614&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/videonewsservice.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/20260425_190852-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C614&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52848,"url":"https:\/\/videonewsservice.net\/index.php\/2024\/05\/05\/genesee-county-pembroke-fire-district-installation-banquet-held-on-saturday-evening\/","url_meta":{"origin":53566,"position":4},"title":"GENESEE COUNTY\/Pembroke Fire District Installation banquet held on Saturday evening","author":"aka","date":"May 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Firefighter of the Year-Ray Mault- with Chief Jamie Waff EMS Provider of the Year- Ed Mileham with Corfu Fire Chief Greg Lang, Todd Thompson and Chief Jamie Waff. 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