Photo courtesy of Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Company: Firefighters converge at the scene of a fire on South Main Street in Medina this morning.

MEDINA – Three people were safely rescued from a fire this morning on Sout Main Street in Medina.

The Medina Fire Department was dispatched to 824 South Main St. at 5:52 a.m. Firefighters encountered active fire and heavy smoke conditions near the entrances of two apartments of a large multi-unit apartment building.

Medina Police officers were first on the scene and attempted to slow the spread of fire with several fire extinguishers.

With reports of multiple residents still inside, firefighters deployed a 1¾’ hoseline and initiated fire attack, Fire Chief Steve Cooley said in a news release.

“After knocking down the fire at the doorway, crews made entry into an apartment under hazardous smoke-filled conditions,” Cooley said. “Firefighters quickly located and removed two occupants, a mother and child.”

Firefighters were then told a third person remained inside a bedroom. Lieutenant Adam Fisher and Firefighter Amanda Cassano re-entered the apartment with the protection of a hoseline and conducted a targeted search with the thermal imaging camera, locating and rescuing the third victim found in the bedroom, Cooley said.

Additional firefighters and Medina police officers conducted searches of the remaining smoke-filled apartments to ensure all occupants were accounted for. Medina firefighter-paramedics immediately began medical evaluations and treatment of the rescued residents, Cooley said.

“As additional firefighters arrived, crews completed primary and secondary searches, continued suppression efforts, and conducted overhaul to ensure the fire was fully extinguished,” Cooley said,

The Orleans County Fire Investigation Unit, assisted by the Medina Fire Department Investigation Unit, began determining the cause of the fire. The Erie County Sheriff’s Office accelerant detection K9 unit also responded to assist. The fire cause is under investigation.

Two residents were transported to Strong Memorial Hospital. One occupant left the scene prior to transport, and another resident was evaluated for smoke inhalation but declined further treatment. No firefighters were injured at this incident.

East Shelby, Albion ladder, Middleport and Mercy EMS all responded to the scene with the Middleport Fire Company providing coverage at the Medina Fire Station to ensure uninterrupted emergency response within the village during the incident.

“We extend our sincere appreciation to all the agencies listed above including the Orleans County dispatchers and deputies, village code enforcement and the Red Cross,” Cooley said. “During this incident, an additional EMS call within the village was handled by Medina Fire Ambulance. We would also like to thank the manager of Dunkin’ Donuts for delivering fresh coffee to crews operating on scene.”

Photos by Ginny Kropf: (Left) Kay Van Nostrand describes this steel shovel used by her father all of his life to shovel snow, coal and even grain. (Right) Georgia Thomas, a member of Medina Historical Society, brought this 12-candle mold to Show and Tell at the February meeting.

MEDINA – The Medina Historical Society’s meeting on Monday night was a crowd-pleaser.

Once a year, the society features “Show and Tell,” and gives members an opportunity to share unique, unusual or unknown items with the membership.

While a stormy evening likely kept some people away, the brave souls who attended the meeting enthusiastically enjoyed the evening’s presentation.

Historical Society president Reinhard Rogowski welcomed guests and announced the next two meetings would be at the Medina Senior Center, due to construction at the library. At the March 30 meeting, Ron Stork will share some of his collection of Medina treasures. The April 27 meeting will feature Erica Wanecski giving a history of Medina Memorial Hospital.

The first to “Show and Tell” was Diane Mazur, who brought her grandmother’s wedding shoes. They were black, size 4 and perfectly preserved.

Next, Georgia Thomas produced an 18th century candle mold, which made 12 beeswax candles. She shared how she made bayberry candles at Christmas.

“Bayberry is very expensive, but it smells nice,” she said.

 Kay Van Nostrand demonstrated a very heavy shovel made of steel.

“I grew up in Attica where they had lots of snow, and my dad used this to shovel snow,” she said. “He was married in 1928 in Dannemora and I’m sure he shoveled snow there. This was the only shovel he ever used. He shoveled a path to the house, to the barn, to the woodshed and to the driveway. In his younger days, he shoveled coal for train cars. He was also known to shovel grain. He would wax his shovel with paraffin from my mother’s canning jars.”

(Left) A photo of noted Medina builder Frank Mallison was shared by Orleans County historian Catherine Cooper during Show and Tell at the Medina Historical Society’s meeting on Monday. The photo was discovered at a house sale in Shelby. Mallison is credited with building many of Medina’s historic buildings. (Right) Ron Stork entertained members of the Medina Historical Society during their Show and Tell meeting with a demonstration of this musical cigarette box.

Catherine Cooper, Orleans County historian and board member of Medina Historical Society, shared a photograph of contractor and builder Frank Mallison, which had been discovered at a house sale in Shelby. On the back it listed four generations of his descendants.

“This is significant because Mallison’s buildings form part of the structure of Medina,” Cooper said.

Some of the buildings built by Mallison include Medina Cold Storage, the Senior Citizen’s Center, armory, Medina Memorial Hospital, the high school, S.A. Cook buildings on East Avenue and Main Street, the Masonic Temple addition and the chapel at West Ridgeway Cemetery.

“He left a lasting memory,” Cooper said.

Ron Stork, a longtime collector of Monitor clocks, brought a very unique gadget – a cigarette music box made by Edgar Gould. Gould also made Monitor clocks, owned Medina Toy Company and worked with veterinarian Dr. Stocking. The music boxes were last made in 1933, Stork said. He said they would sit on a bar and for a penny a customer could buy a cigarette. As the six-sided music box revolved, its doors opened wide.

The program concluded with Shirley Bright-Neeper, who read a letter she had received from the late Pete Nesbitt of Pine Hill, after meeting him in 1992. Pete and his older brother Bob were both Navy pilots – Bob serving in World War II and Pete joining 12 years later in peace time. Bob was awarded four Flying Crosses for his heroics during the war.

“This was another year of intriguing items at the Show and Tell,” Cooper said.