Medina business raising funds for new boat for Fire Department
Photo by Tom Rivers: The Orleans County Sheriff’s Office brought a boat from Lake Alice to Medina on Aug. 17 to try to locate a pickup truck that plunged into the canal.
MEDINA – Lyons Collision is reaching out to local businesses and community members for donations to buy a new boat with a motor for the Medina Police Department.
So far, 14 donors have given $4,050 for a new 14-foot-long boat with a 25-horsepower motor. That is about halfway towards the $8,500 cost, said Fire Chief Tom Lupo.
The Fire Department has a boat with a motor from 1954. Lupo said the engine isn’t reliable and the vessel functions more as a rowboat.
The Fire Department wants a heavy duty, semi-inflatable boat. It could also be used during the winter and taken on ice (with the engine removed).
Jeff Lyons has seen the delays and difficulties in responding to water-related calls in Medina. On Aug. 17, a pickup truck plunged into the canal. It took about four hours to locate and pull the truck out of the canal. The driver, who was allegedly drunk, was able to safely get out of the truck.
Medina needed to wait for a boat from the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office to try to find the truck. That boat didn’t have a working sonar. Jeff Lyons was on the boat and used a magnet tied to a rope to locate the black truck after midnight.
Lyons and his sister Kim Patterson have been going door to door asking businesses to donate to a modern vessel for the Fire Department.
“We’ve got water with the canal and Glenwood Lake,” Patterson said. “You never know when you’re going to need it.”
The Oak Orchard Creek also runs through the village. Lupo, the fire chief, said there is a lot of unsanctioned recreation area by streams in Orleans County.
The new boat would be quick to deploy. That boat with a 25-horsepower motor could also move quickly for a rescue. Lupo said the addition of Hydrobikes and kayakers through Pedal and Paddle Medina adds to the desire for a new boat.
“There is more activity on the canal,” he said. “If someone is in trouble, we need to be able to move a little faster.”
Lupo is hopeful the funds can be in place by this winter for the boat, and the vessel can be purchased and in service next spring.
Donations for the boat can be sent to Medina Fire Department at either Lyons Collisions at 511 Orient St. or the Medina Fire Department, 600 Main St., Medina, NY 14013.
