How Coast Guard Station Buffalo Works

BUFFALO, NY — Whether it’s safe boating events, recruitment drives or out on the water, you may have met the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard.

But we asked to go deeper behind the scenes to better understand their mission, from search and rescue to protecting our coasts and waterways, to law enforcement and even what they call aids to navigation.

So think of Coast Guard Station Buffalo as a fire station that’s on constant watch.

Chief Travis Ruterbusch is in charge of the U.S. Coast Guard station in Buffalo. He said of his crews, “They’re ready to go and deploy on a Coast Guard response boat within 30 minutes.”

Their specific area of ​​responsibility extends from Dunkirk to the Niagara River in the Great Lakes District, one of the busiest areas for the Coast Guard in the entire country.

Ruterbusch noted: “Lake Erie can change direction at any time. It’s the shallowest of all the Great Lakes, which means it can go from dead calm to very, very rough and very dangerous weather conditions in the blink of an eye.”

He says it can be a variety of missions.

“We could have a kayaker who flipped over just outside the Coast Guard station here and can’t get back in his kayak – maybe the water temperature is cold that day – so we’re looking at possible hypothermia conditions,” Ruterbusch said.

“We could also have a ship that just ran out of fuel and is a few miles offshore. Maybe the weather is changing and we need to go out and get the ship back to shore before it capsizes.”

Their dispatch calls come in via forwarded 911, and they also monitor VHF marine radio channel 16.

Sometimes they call in a Detroit Coast Guard helicopter to handle a rescue with these spectacular aerial lifts to safety.

But the lake isn’t their only concern, as we discovered during our ride aboard their 45-foot, medium-response boat, powered by twin diesel engines and jet propulsion.

Ruterbusch noted: “It’s pretty unique. It’s almost like a giant jet ski and it’s pretty fast for its size.”

Yes, we found that out when they opened it up a bit to launch into the Niagara River, which can really put those powerful engines to the test and be dangerous for inexperienced or somewhat careless boaters or those using jet skis.

Petty Officer First Class Timothy Stamm said, “Are the boats overloaded? That’s a big issue here because we see a lot of guys going out and not realizing they’re doing something crazy, they’re bringing their whole family with them and they’re overloading the boat, which creates a dangerous situation. No matter how good a swimmer you are, if you fall off a jet ski, you’re going to be off that thing in a matter of minutes. It’s going to pull you under.”

During our brief hike, Senior Chief Ruterbusch pointed out that “you can see the water pouring down here. The International Peace Bridge area here between Canada and the United States.”

Coast Guard crews sometimes have very dangerous jobs. This was tragically demonstrated in March 2001, when two Coast Guard members from Station Youngstown died of hypothermia when their small boat was overturned by a four-foot hurricane on Lake Ontario while they were on patrol.

As for the law enforcement and homeland security part of their mission, you’ll notice they carry handguns and some of their boats can easily be equipped with machine guns. Ruterbusch said, “We’re always vigilantly patrolling the waters between the United States and Canada, looking for threats and making sure our presence is known.”

This also extends to all the giant cargo ships that dock at Buffalo Harbor.

But they share responsibility for a common border, as Chief Ruterbusch said: “We train with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. We also train with them to conduct joint law enforcement patrols.”

The Buffalo Coast Guard has another mission that may be overlooked. It’s the placement and maintenance of navigational aids or buoys to ensure boaters avoid danger and stay on course in the channels. Coast Guard Firefighter Cole Mason said, “I know we’re responsible for over 350 navigational aids. That’s all of Lake Ontario and most of Lake Erie.”

And of course, they have to remove most of these buoys in the fall before the winter ice damages them, and then replace them in the spring aboard buoyage vessels.

To accommodate all of this work, Coast Guard Station Buffalo is getting new buildings. They are expected to be built next year to replace aging structures from the 1960s and 1970s that are holding up to the harsh winter conditions. “The new facility is being built to withstand all of the environmental challenges that come with having a station on the waterfront,” Lt. William Kelley told us.

The Coast Guard technically falls under Homeland Security with its 55,000 personnel.

But as in many other military branches, recruiting is difficult, and in 2023 the Government Accounting Office reported that it was 4,800 members short of its recruiting goal.

As a result, the coast guard, which covers 160,000 kilometers of coastline and waterways, has had to adjust staffing at some of its stations.