CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. — The community members gathered on Tuesday night to demand increased funding for the City of Canandaigua Fire Department after a 98-year-old man died in a fire.

The local firefighters union says the lack of staffing made it difficult to get to the man. At the time, there were four firefighters on call. Adam Faville, a firefighter who was first on the scene, spoke at the Canandaigua City Council meeting.

“I was the officer, I was search. I was pump operator. I was attack. And I was rescue. All in like five minutes. I had to do five jobs,” he said.

Faville said he had to make the choice to put out the fire or try and save the man in the building. “We had to make a decision. Do we fight the fire or do we help this poor woman’s dad?” he said.

After hearing from the community, the city council voted to add two more firefighters, a temporary assistant fire chief for one year, and a public safety study to the 2025 budget proposal.

Mayor Bob Palumbo explained the process.

“On the 10th will be the formal vote on the budget. Tonight was a straw vote to give the city manager direction on how to write up the budget. Next week, someone can make an amendment. Want to make an amendment to the budget, change the vote. Hoping it stays the way it is,” he said.

The proposed budget would result in higher taxes due to the additional firefighters.

“It’ll be a 15% increase, which amounted to about an additional $430 to an average house,” Palumbo said. “Public safety is a huge, thing for me. And I think it proved that it’s important that the rest of the council as well.”

The final vote for next year’s budget is scheduled for Dec. 10.

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