CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. — The fire at Latitude 43 on Oct. 11 reignited debate over firefighter staffing in Canandaigua.
The bar and restaurant had opened just three days earlier on Main Street before the fire broke out. The firefighter union said the fire could have been stopped sooner if more staffing was available. But Mayor Thomas Lyon says this should show why mutual aid is vital to smaller communities.
“Every community, unless they’re extremely large, they have to rely on mutual aid. Just as the city of Canandaigua relies on our partners, those towns, we respond when they give us the call,” Lyon said.
Lyon said a study from last year showed mutual aid is the best route forward for now, but the fire department union, Local 2098, said this does not address the core problem of understaffing. The union said just four city firefighters were on scene, while the National Fire Protection Association recommends 28.
“As far as OSHA standards go, their recommendation or their rule is reall, to have two [firefighters] in, two [firefighters] out if you are going to have to do internal search and rescue. And that was what the city was able to provide initially. And then, with the support of our mutual aid partners, we were able to address other issues,” Lyon said.
Bob Palumbo, a former Canandaigua mayor who now serves as a firefighter advocate, criticized the situation.
“Just a totally, you know, unsafe, unacceptable. After all these years and all the money spent on studies that we still have to deal with this,” Palumbo said.
Palumbo said he did not vote to approve the last two budgets as mayor.
“The last two budgets, as I was mayor, I did not vote to approve the budget because we had spent so much money on overtime that we could have actually hired staff. You know, wouldn’t have cost the taxpayer any more money,” Palumbo said.
Further discussion is expected at the city’s budget meetings, with the first workshop scheduled for Nov. 2.
Canandaigua fire debate: Latitude 43 blaze raises questions about firefighter staffing on Main Street WHEC.com.
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