About WNY Incident Alerts
We exist to strengthen the people and organizations who protect Western New York every day.
WNY Incident Alerts, Inc. is a volunteer-operated 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We use information, technology, outreach, education, recognition, fundraising support, and community partnerships to serve fire, EMS, law enforcement, and public-safety agencies.
Our mission is simple: support those who serve, connect them with the communities they protect, and help ensure their work is known, valued, and sustained here.
We want local departments to see WNYIA as a resource: a place to share a recruitment campaign, promote an open house, recognize a volunteer, or help the public understand the work behind the calls.
Recruitment & outreach
We help agencies share volunteer opportunities, recruitment events, and the stories of people who serve. Our goal is to make that first conversation easier for someone who is interested in helping.
Public education
Through public-safety content, Firehouse Language, and community outreach, we help people understand emergency terminology, the fire service, prevention, and preparedness.
Community connection
Open houses, fundraisers, department programs, and community gatherings are part of a healthy emergency-services community. Our events pages give those activities a place to be found and shared.
Recognition & remembrance
Volunteer spotlights, department stories, The Signal, and projects such as the Wall of Gratitude help recognize the people behind emergency response and preserve their connection to the community.
Our regional Facebook network, RAVEN Alerts, website, and community outreach help connect residents with timely information and the organizations serving them. That reach supports the mission; it is not the mission itself.
WNYIA provides community information, not emergency response. Our volunteers must respect incident command, responders, privacy, established perimeters, and property owners. Organization-issued identification does not grant access to restricted areas.
The people behind WNYIA
Our work grows from experience in emergency services and a commitment to the communities we serve.
Founder, WNY Incident Alerts, Inc. | Creator of RAVEN Alerts
Brian’s commitment to emergency services began in 1991, when he joined the volunteer fire service at 18 years old. Over the decades that followed, his experience expanded into emergency medical services, emergency dispatch, and fire-service leadership, giving him a firsthand understanding of the challenges, sacrifices, and dedication that define the public-safety community.
That experience, as well as working closely with Matt on Genesee County Fire Wire, ultimately led to the establishment of WNY Incident Alerts, Inc. (WNYIA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to strengthening the connection between emergency responders and the communities they protect. His vision goes well beyond reporting emergencies. Through education, public awareness, volunteer recruitment, and community partnerships, Brian works to ensure that the people who serve Western New York receive the recognition, resources, and support they deserve.
Combining his emergency-services background with his passion for technology, Brian personally developed and programmed RAVEN Alerts, WNYIA's mobile application. He continues to oversee its development and maintenance, using technology to make verified emergency information more accessible while promoting responsible reporting and respect for those involved in emergency situations.
Brian's dedication to service has also taken him beyond Western New York. In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, he was dispatched with his fire company to provide emergency medical support near Ground Zero, an experience that reinforced his lifelong commitment to the emergency-services community. Years later, a visit to Kinsale, Ireland, inspired WNYIA's Wall of Gratitude, an initiative built around remembrance, appreciation, and the enduring brotherhood of emergency responders.
For Brian, WNYIA is more than an organization, and RAVEN is more than an app. Both reflect a belief that the people who answer the call deserve a community that stands behind them.
Chief Operating Officer | Tonawanda
Matt grew up in Akron and moved to Pembroke after high school. Being around the fire service with his father led him to become a firefighter on his 18th birthday. He began with Pembroke Fire District and now serves with Ellicott Creek Fire Company.
His career has included the Batavia Muckdogs, an associate degree in criminal justice at Genesee Community College, and EMS work at Mercy Flight EMS. He now works in EMS at a Buffalo copper plant.
Matt started Genesee County Fire Wire to help keep the community informed. Working with Brian, he saw an opportunity to reach more people and support communities beyond Genesee County.
Matt wants WNYIA to be known for the positive difference it makes for first responders and their neighbors. He sees incident information as one part of that work, alongside recruitment, public education, community events, and support for local departments.
He values the perspectives volunteers bring. Fire and EMS experience can be useful, but people without that background also contribute skills, ideas, and time.
Looking toward the future, Matt hopes to strengthen volunteer recruitment and retention, build relationships with agencies, and bring residents and first responders together.
“One thing I have stayed true to is all I want to do is to be able to help as many people as I can.”
Matt enjoys time with his fiancée, Stephanie, and volunteering at the firehouse. Coffee, summer, and late nights. A Bills game over a quiet Sunday. Someday, a trip to Italy to explore his family roots.
Katie’s biography is coming soon.