The Falconer Volunteer Fire Department, located at 115 Davis Street.

FALCONER — Ever since the Falconer Fire Department’s ambulance got into an accident on Dec. 20, 2025, the village has relied on mutual aid and county level responses to ensure that residents receive the necessary care and services.

However, due to the large load of calls within the village, officials have recently declared it an emergency priority to focus on getting the village a new ambulance.

Back in December, the Falconer ambulance was responding to a mutual aid call in the town of Gerry, during which time the ambulance was transporting a patient. At around 4:30 a.m., while the ambulance was being driven by Greg P. Scott, 53, with county medic Walid Al-Jabiri, 44, located inside with the patient.

It was during this time that a Gerry plow truck, which was clearly the Gerry Rodeo grounds, would back into the ambulance while it was traveling along NY Route-60. The plow truck was being driven by Brian Anderson, 63, of Gerry. During the wreck Al-Jabiri was struck by a piece of medical equipment inside of the ambulance, causing the need to seek further medical attention.

“It’s been out of commission since, and fortunately we’ve been able, as part of mutual aid, that Falconer’s district has been taken care of by the surrounding departments, including UPMC’s Alstar Ambulance,” said village Mayor Jim Jaroszynski. “So everybody’s been kicking in, but I think personally, I think they’ve seen how busy the fire department is and I think they want us to get an ambulance back on the road as soon as we can.”

Due to this growing need for a new ambulance, village officials declared an emergency need for the new vehicle. Jarosynzski stated that this was a necessary action as it can help to expedite the purchasing process, with the department having already found a vendor with a vehicle in Michigan. Jarosynzski stated that the department has even already received this vehicle, which is currently sitting in the engine bay at the fire department. Though in the village’s possession, the ambulance is not quite ready yet. Jarosynzski stated that the ambulance still needs to be equipped with all the necessary tools, with officials hoping that it will be on the road sometime within the next month.

“Between the village board and the fire department, this is something that we definitely needed to do for our residents and districts that we serve,” said Jarosynzski. “So we need to get this back in order.”

Jarosynzski noted the incredibly collaborative efforts from various groups, all of which came together to organize this quick purchase. The Falconer Fire Advisory Board, the Falconer Fire Association, and the Falconer Village Board all contributed toward making this purchase a possibility. With the plans to get the replacement vehicle up and running moving along quickly, the village anticipates being back to serving the residents with its own services very soon.