City Republicans in Canandaigua have been vocal and critical of local leadership after a fire at Nolan’s on the Lake resulted in the building being demolished.
While the investigation into the fire remains active — the City of Canandaigua Republicans took to Facebook — sounding off about staffing issues with the Canandaigua Fire Department.
They point to the City of Canandaigua, its management, mayor, and councilors as proving to be a roadblock to keeping residents safe — rather than staffing the kind of force that is necessary.
“It is time to start talking about the City of Canandaigua not properly staffing the Fire Department. Although they have been made well aware of the problem almost constantly for the past 9 years, they have continued to ignore the warnings. Current staffing is not safe for firefighters or residents,” the group said in a post to Facebook late-Thursday.
City Officials did not respond to the statement, but the sentiment will surely be brought to the next City Council meeting.
More than 80 firefighters from throughout the region responded to the fire, which included those from a variety of forces in the Ontario County area.
Many crews from outside Ontario County were called to standby at various stations inside the County in a mutual aid effort. That type of effort is not uncommon when major fires — like the one seen at Nolan’s yesterday takes place.
The fire at Nolan’s broke out around 5:30 am, and roads in the area were shut down for hours — as those crews battled the intense flames, which even put a severe burden on the municipal water system.
Officials say that they had to begin drawing water from other sources, as they taxed the City’s system too greatly during the firefight.
Read the entire statement below:
“First, we want to express our heartfelt condolences to the owners and employees of Nolan’s Restaurant. An absolute tragedy that something you’ve cared about and built up was lost in this awful event. We hope that you are quickly able to rebuild and find continued success. You can be sure our community will be there to assist.
Second, a tremendous thank you to our City firefighters and all the assisting companies for your selfless service. You are true heroes. It is reassuring to know in an emergency that you will be there and willing to put yourself in harm’s way to protect us.
Thank you for always being ready to help.
Third, it is time to start talking about the City of Canandaigua not properly staffing the Fire Department. Although they have been made well aware of the problem almost constantly for the past 9 years, they have continued to ignore the warnings. Current staffing is not safe for firefighters or residents.
This and other tragedies could potentially be prevented by providing proper manpower during the first minutes of an incident. But the past and current City Management, the Mayor, and the City Council – except our own Matt Martin and a few other council members – are continually willing to take risks with our safety. This has been going on long enough. It is time for this to change.”
