OPERATION: 9097

overnor George Pataki's mandate that Indian Nations collect New York State sales tax on such items as gasoline and cigarettes created quite a stir on Indian Reservations around Western New York.

In defiance of Pataki's tax collection order, many of the nations displayed their opposition through public marches; tire burning and other demonstrations of civil disobedience. The Cattaraugus Indian Reservation, home to the Seneca Nation of Indians, was a hotbed of activity during this period of unrest.

GROUND ZERO:

The approximately two mile stretch of the New York State Thruway that runs directly through the Cattaraugus Reservation, and more specifically, the area where Rte. 438 crosses the Thruway and the Thruway bridge spans Cattaraugus Creek, was the favored site for these fires. This area was considered "Ground Zero."

Concerned for the safety of travelers and demonstrators, New York State Police Troopers were called in to maintain peace and safety as the nightly tire fires became more frequent and more intense.

In an effort to minimize risk to outside agencies or other personnel, the State Police and the New York State Thruway Authority employed the use of Thruway water trucks to douse the tire fires when they got out of hand. The trucks carried approximately 3,000 gallons each and were utilized with a three-inch hose line to literally just dump water onto the fires. In most cases, this method was effective enough to contain the fires.

DAY 1:

On the night of Friday, April 4, protesters apparently started a fire fueled by an estimated 200 auto and large truck tires. Acrid black smoke billowed and black sludge ran down from the pile of tires set upon a hill some 125 ft. off the eastbound shoulder of the Thruway and bordering Cattaraugus Creek to the South.

Almost 50 Troopers were on hand to supervise the large group of demonstrators assembled around and feeding the fire. The smoke blanketed the Troopers staged at the bottom of the hill and the eastbound lane of the Thruway.

Concerned for the safety of their own personnel and passing motorists, the State Police contacted Angola Fire Control to dispatch the Evans Center Fire Company. The Evans Center Volunteer Fire Co. in the Town of Evans protects a 13 mile section of the Thruway between Hamburg and Silver Creek. Their services include fire protection, vehicle extrication, and advanced life support emergency medical services.

Evans Center has previous experience with just this type of situation as they were called in four years earlier when a similar attempt at imposing taxation resulted in civil unrest and tire fires on the Thruway. Anticipating the possibility of such events, the Thruway had been in touch with Evans Center officers weeks earlier, and had pre-designed a plan for their response.

It was agreed that Evans Center would only be dispatched when State resources were exceeded and only after the scene was first secured.

On April 5, at approximately 12:30am, Evans Center Fire Chief Tim Luscom responded to a staging area established in the westbound parking lot of the Angola Rest Area to assemble his team and meet with State officials. Assistant Chiefs Dennis Allen and Tim Szczepaniak, and Bob Schultz, Deputy Commissioner in charge of the Erie County Dept. of Emergency Services Fire Safety Division met with Luscom.

Captain McNantis from the New York State Police briefed Schultz and the Evans Center Chiefs on the situation. It was decided that Evans Center Engine 2, stationed at their Gowans Road Station near the Thruway, would respond to the scene with the fire chiefs, and Engine 1 would stage their crew at the rest area.

Text Box: “The safety of self-contained breathing apparatus was forfeited for the added speed needed for a quick retreat — should it become necessary.” Fire fighters were instructed that their own safety was to be their first and foremost concern. In the event of a violent outbreak, fire fighters were instructed to take cover and use whatever methods were necessary to protect them. Sirens and air horns on the fire engine would be used to signal crewmembers to retreat to the apparatus. Team members were instructed to refer to each other only as "fire fighter" when attempting to gain someone's attention or communicating orders.

Members were instructed to keep their back to the demonstrators whenever possible and their names were removed from or covered on their helmets and gear to prevent possibly hostile protestors from identifying the crew.

No lights or sirens would be used otherwise, and radio communications were to be kept to a minimum. The safety of self-contained breathing apparatus was forfeited for the added speed needed for a quick retreat should it become necessary.

Upon arrival at the large tire fire on the hillside next to Rte. 438, a virtual "wall" of Troopers moved in front of the fire engine now parked on the shoulder of the Thruway. Dressed in "riot gear" complete with helmets, face shields, protective vests, and batons, the line of Troopers moved up the hill to move the demonstrators back, leading the fire fighters to do their job of extinguishing the fire.

After quickly dumping Engine 2's 500-gallon tank, it was decided that more water would be necessary to quell the fire. Engine 1 was ordered to move up from the staging area to the fire scene. Engine 2 left to secure a site for replenishing their water supply. A hydrant adjacent to the Denny's Restaurant at the rest area was located high atop the hill in the center median overlooking the eastbound lane.

The fire was now dampened down and the smoke "clouds" lightened in color. However, subsequent tank refills and dumping on the fire failed to extinguish the intense heat buried beneath the pile of tires. Most of the rubber had burned off, leaving behind heavy white-hot wheel rims and coils of wire from the steel-belted tires. This made operations extremely dangerous and walking on top of the tires was treacherous due to the steel coils tripping up the fire fighters.

The Troopers stood between the demonstrators and the fire fighters as they continued their efforts to pull apart the pile using trash hooks and pike poles. Protesters photographed the fire fighters and Troopers as they worked.

At one point, a fire fighter stumbled in the wire coils and fell into the fire. The onlookers laughed and jeered at the firemen as they struggled to disentangle their teammate from the burning coils.

The fire chiefs concluded that only aqueous foam would suffocate and cool the intense fire. A foam eductor was installed on the nozzle of the attack line and two five-gallon tanks of the 3-6% solution were introduced into the water stream to create a thick blanket of white foam over the pile of tires. This would also prevent the demonstrators from restarting the fire after the firemen left.

This would be the end to one of many more fires to come. The fire company went back into service at 6:30am the next day from fighting four other smaller fires that night.

OPERATION 9097:

That morning, Saturday, April 5, Chief Luscom met with county and state officials at the Thruway Rest Area off Inwood Avenue. The group, which included top ranking officials from the State Police, Thruway Authority, and the New York State Office of Fire Prevention and Control, discussed the previous and ensuing operation.

The Thruway Authority offered Evans Center the opportunity to expand their operations on the Thruway, requesting that they maintain a manned engine at all times for possible response to similar incidents on the state highway. If Evans Center declined to tackle this challenge, the state would be forced to hire an outside paid department, at a huge cost to the taxpayers. Further guidelines were established for the operation. This would be a big undertaking for a 100% volunteer department.

Luscom consulted his other line officers, Deputy Commissioner Schultz, as well as Clint Soemann, fire company president, and their legal counsel Steve Cohen of Lorenzo & Cohen.

It was agreed that Evans Center would take on the task of protecting the Reservation section of the Thruway until such time their services were no longer required.

Just five hours after the initial request, and only two hours after fire company members were notified, “Operation 9097” was up and running. Evans Center was put on indefinite standby and the transformation from a moderately busy volunteer department to a full-time fire fighting operation began.

Evans Center typically responds to 50 EMS calls, and 5-15 fire alarms a month. They responded to five fires the first night alone. Thus began what members dubbed "Operation 9097." [The numbers "90" refer to Interstate-90, another name for the Thruway, and "97" refers to the year, indicating that Evans Center had been there before.]

The agreement called for Evans Center to have at least one engine manned at their Station 2 continuously around the clock. The typical crew consisted of an engineer (operator), two attack fire fighters, a utility fire fighter, a truck officer, and two chiefs.

Evans Center's Engine 3 was moved from their Station 1 on Erie Road in Evans Center to the Gowans Road station. This attack engine was transformed into a quick response vehicle. A pre-connected attack line was set-up with 150 ft. of hose line at the rear of the truck. Non-essential equipment was stripped from the truck and other equipment was repositioned to accommodate additional foam containers.

Standard operating procedures would call for a sparing amount of water to be used on the fires, followed by a thorough covering of aqueous foam. Officers initiated a duty roster splitting each day into three eight-hour shifts.

Evans Center's Station 2, a basic block building with few amenities normally housed Engine 2 and Truck 4, a light duty rescue and utility truck. During Operation 9097, these two trucks stayed at Station 1 while Rescue 7 - a light rescue Chevy Suburban - was assigned to Chief Allen for use as a Thruway response vehicle, eliminating the need for personal vehicles.

Station 2 has only a small bathroom and water is pumped from a well drilled outside. An outdoor propane tank feeds the large unit heater that hangs in the truck bay. A makeshift bunkroom was assembled in the empty bay vacated by Truck 4 and consisted of eight army-style cots, a combination TV/VCR, refrigerator, and a picnic table.

Evans Center’s Ladies Auxiliary provided plenty of food, drinks, and snacks to sustain the members during the 24-hour-a-day operation. Fire radios, a scanner, and a fax machine were installed. This allowed the engine company to meet its obligation of a 10-minute maximum response time to any point in the hot zone, a stipulation of the state agreement.

DAY 2:

Saturday night proved to be an equally busy evening. Crews worked through the night, extinguishing small fires surrounding "Ground Zero" to protect the Troopers on location. This time, protestors video-taped fire fighters as they went about their work.

Around 5am on Sunday morning, Chief Allen and Capt. Tige Schmittendorf responded in Rescue 7 to the Buffalo International Airport. Working within a standing cooperative agreement between Buffalo Airport Crash-Fire-Rescue and local fire departments, the truck was loaded with 24 containers of foam solution, a total of 120 gallons. This would replenish Evans Center's limited supply and support fire fighting efforts throughout the operation.

The Thruway Authority authorized and offered any resources that the fire company might require. An industrial-grade washer and dryer set was ordered to facilitate on-site washing of turnout gear blackened by the tire fires. Soot and residue left on turnout gear presents a safety risk because it can ignite in a subsequent fire. Evans Center initially relied on the Lake Shore Fire Company which has the equipment designed for cleaning turnout gear and had graciously offered to do the cleaning for them.

Each shift turn-over began with a briefing on current events, seating assignments, a recap of recent operations, safety tips, and updates on changes in apparatus, policies, and/or equipment location and set-up. Nightly deliveries of hot meals, typically pizza and wings, kept the fire fighters prepared for the busiest shift of the day.

Volunteers were settling into the routine of working their paying jobs and then reporting to the fire station to work a shift. Within a week of the start of the operation, demonstration activities slowed to the point that Evans Center's manned shift responsibility was reduced to 7pm-7am, every day.

The assistance of the Lake Erie Beach Fire Company, with whom Evans Center has an alliance agreement for primary mutual-aid, was solicited with great response. Lake Erie Beach fire fighters helped fill gaps in shifts that Evans Center could not fill alone. Brant Fire Company offered manned tankers should a supplemental water supply be required.

In the event of a needed fire response, a State Police command post, established at the maintenance facility located at the Silver Creek toll barrier contacted Angola Fire Control. Angola Control would then contact Evans Center Engine 3 by low-band radio. Crewmembers, sleeping in their street clothes, woke, donned their turnout gear and responded from the station in under a minute.

Angola Control then activated Evans Center's pager tones and alerted all fire company personnel that Engine 3 and the on-duty chief were responding to a Thruway incident. The crew for a back up Engine Company was then assembled at Station 1 before moving up to the staging area.

In the event of a fire or other emergency anywhere else in Evans Center's district, additional engines were dispatched under their normal mutual-aid agreement with Lake Erie Beach. Evans Center Engine 3 was dedicated to the Thruway operation.

SLOW WEEKS:

Fire fighting activity in the following weeks was sporadic. Occasional small fires would need extinguishing, but none of the magnitude of the original fire that spurred the operation. Evans Center's operation was downgraded to being manned from 7pm Friday night through 7am Monday morning. Shifts continued to be manned sufficiently. Off-duty fire fighters would often man additional apparatus and supplement the crews on bunk-duty, spending time with their fellow fire fighters and friends playing cards, watching TV, or sharing "war stories."

VIOLENCE ERUPTS:

Protestors planned a peaceful march for Sunday, April 27. When that day came, hundreds of protestors and supporters marched down Rte. 438 from the Cattaraugus Creek Bridge at Rtes. 5 & 20. The assembly moved off Rte. 438 and down onto the Thruway.

Command officers from the State Police stood behind barricades, allowing the demonstrators to maintain their course. The Thruway had already been shut down in both directions in anticipation of their arrival. When the officers approached the leaders of the march, they were overtaken by protestors and pushed to the ground. Several Troopers were injured.

This overtaking of the Thruway lasted into the night, with the State Police taking a hands-off approach to the situation.

REGAINING CONTROL:

In the early hours of Monday morning, State Police officials informed Chief Luscom that the fire company would be involved in an operation to regain control of and reopen the Thruway. Luscom contacted his key personnel by telephone. They were told that, at 5:20am, they would accompany the State Police into the hot zone once again.

Text Box: “After 187 hours of standby duty over 34 days and nights, countless fires and 1,500 man-hours later,
one of the most unusual experiences in the fire company's 64-year history was over — at least for the time being.” Engine 3 stood by in the staging area established in the cross over at the 454.6 mile post marker. Shortly thereafter, heavy Thruway equipment and some 20+ State Police cars passed them headed for "Ground Zero."

Thick smoke billowed from the fire scene and State Police choppers shined their floodlights overhead as Engine 3 crested the hill looking down onto the Thruway Bridge over Cattaraugus Creek. The scene resembled a war zone as the pre-dawn temperatures sent a chill down the fire fighters' backs. They could see their breath in the air as Thruway workers cleaned up the mess while some 500 Troopers maintained their protective vigil.

The heavy equipment was used to push away three cars and the large amount of debris that protestors apparently had left burning in both the east and westbound lanes of the Thruway.

Once a path was cleared the trooper cars and Engine 3 moved to the south side of the bridge.

Thruway tank trucks dumped water on the burning cars, telephone poles, logs, tires and other rubbish in the roadway piled up during the night. The pavement was marred and scorched by the intense heat of the fires.

Evans Center Engine 1 moved into the hot zone and crews remained on location there until about 7:30am on Monday morning. After being released, the apparatus returned and fire fighters went home to prepare for their day jobs.

COOL DOWN:

Protest activities diminished following the march that turned violent. A few days later, Gov. Pataki announced that negotiations had been suspended and that the State would temporarily back away from their stance on imposing tax collection on the Indians. Many of the State Police troops were withdrawn and returned to their normal assignments.

Chief Luscom met with state officials and requested that the fire company be taken off standby/alert status. Permission was granted and on May 8, the department returned to a more normal mode of operation.

After 187 hours of standby duty over 34 days and nights, countless fires and 1,500 man-hours later, one of the most unusual experiences in the fire company's 64-year history was over, at least for the time being.

The fire company maintained its position of neutrality throughout the operation, stressing that it was not politically agreeing or conflicting with either side involved in the debate.

Similar to peaceful fire fighting forces that provide emergency services during other conflicts around the world, the Evans Center Volunteer Fire Company was just there to do a job, and do it to the best of their ability.

The overall experience lifted fire company morale and brought a new spirit of teamwork and cooperation to its members.

Spending 6 and 12-hour shifts together, eating meals together, and sleeping along side each other, in essence, operating as a full-time department, was a unique and rewarding experience for this all-volunteer department of only 45 active members.

The fact that they were able to overcome operational challenges under very tense and often dangerous circumstances is a tribute to every member that gave effort to Evans Center's "Operation 9097."