CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. — Canandaigua City Council has voted to add a new deputy fire chief and to set aside funding for a survey to determine whether the city needs any more firefighters.

The vote was 6 to 3 in favor of the budget. The vote follows the death of a 98-year-old man in a house fire on Jefferson Avenue in Canandaigua on Nov. 30.

In a Facebook post, The union representing the Canandaigua Fire Department claimed staffing issues made it difficult for firefighters to get to the victim. Canandaigua’s city manager said an independent study from 2018 found that the optimal daily staffing for the fire department was four firefighters per shift. There’s a total of 18 paid firefighters in the city.

Canandaigua City Council Member Douglas Merrill spoke about the vote.

“I don’t have the answers here, I ask the question, are we trying to solve an EMS problem with firefighters and fire trucks? That’s why I asked for this study,” Merrill said.

There’s no word yet on when the deputy fire chief will be hired or when that survey will begin. News10NBC will keep you posted on any further developments.