Free N95 face masks available at Buffalo community centers

If you would like a free N95 face mask, they are available at community centers in Buffalo. Buffalo firefighters delivered thousands of them across the city to ensure safety and help folks feel comfortable.

"We want the community to be safe," said Larry Pernick, executive director of the Northwest Community Center. "We want the community to have the necessary tools, and the necessary equipment to make each and every person comfortable, and really make sure we provide them anything they need to really be safer in our community."

The masks are available on a first-come, first-serve basis at the Northwest, Tosh Collins and Delevan-Grider Community Centers, and the Belle Center.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and health officials around the state are urging people to wear masks due to health issues and an Air Quality Advisory that remains in effect due to smoke from wildfires in Canada continuing to move through the state.

The state's air quality index sat at 200 in several parts of the state Thursday. It typically hovers between 35 and 50, the governor said. The worst can be found in New York City, on Long Island, the Hudson Valley, Central and Western New York.

"This is not over," Hochul said. "We might get a little respite, but I don't want people to let down their guard and be complacent about this. We have to be prepared for the winds to shift. This is unknown."