Our District

The members of the Canandaigua Association of Career firefighters proudly protect all of the City of Canandaigua and a large portion of the Town of Canandaigua. The diversity of our district requires that we constantly train on all types of fire and rescue situations to ensure that the public is adequately protected when an emergency occurs.

Fire Hazards
The first major fire hazard that we train for is the type of building construction within the district. The most common type of structure within our district is the one and two family wood frame home. These are generally balloon, platform, post and beam or lightweight construction. Each type has its own hazards concerning life safety in regards to fire spread and building stability. In recent years, most new construction and remodels are being done with lightweight construction, which uses minimal mass when constructing homes. This is a system that is very strong under normal conditions but can fail and lead to collapse in less than five minutes from time of exposure to fire. This type of failure makes early detection a must in protecting life and property in these homes. This hazard will most likely change the way we fight fires in the future as we gain experience with these structures.

The next most prevalent structures in our district are non-combustible buildings. These are the typical big box stores and are described a s non-combustible because their structural members are made of masonry and steel products that will not burn. However, the contents in these structures burn as fast as the contents in other structures. In addition to this, these structures usually have steel I beam or web truss roofs that are unprotected from fire and will fail early under fire condition.

We also have what we refer to as ordinary construction. These buildings are what most people consider "Main Street USA" and usually comprise of retail or office space on the first floor and apartments on the upper floors. They are made of four masonry exterior walls and wood framed interior floors, walls and roofs. Often, they share common walls and have been altered many times over their decades of use. Time has usually taken its toll on these structures and fires are extremely difficult to fight because of hidden spaces, confusing floor layouts, high life hazards on upper floors and low firefighter staffing levels.

There are a few "mill" or heavy timber buildings left in our district. Large open floor plans, multiple floors, masonry exterior walls, and very large wooden structural and floor members characterize these. The size of these buildings makes aggressive interior firefighting very difficult, as fire will rapidly gain hold of these structures.

The final type of structure we have in the district is considered fire resistant. It is made of masonry products and is protected by fire alarm, sprinkler and standpipe systems. While the contents of this structure can still burn, the combination of the building construction and fire protection system helps to reduce the threat of fire outside of the area of fire origin. Smoke and auto exposure (fire spread outside of the building from window to window) are still a threat to residents outside of the area of fire origin so aggressive fire attack and search and rescue are still required in these structures.

In addition to the type of construction of buildings in our district, we also have to address the types of occupancies in the district. These occupancies include single and two family homes, multiple dwellings, mixed-use structures, places of assembly, educational facilities, industrial facilities, a hospital, nursing homes and entertainment venues. These all have unique hazards that must be identified and prepared for. Such hazards would include life hazards as well as the hazards of the contents stored and manufactured in the different facilities. Every building has unique hazards and our member's training and experience is what ensures this community is protected to the level the community has determined it desires.

Rescue Potential
The possibilities for rescue situations are endless. Through hazard and risk assessment, our members have been trained on the most likely as well as the highest risk hazards in the community. The most common rescue situation that we perform is patient extrication from motor vehicle collisions. We also perform cold and ice water rescue using specialized equipment. Other areas we have responsibilities in are low and high angle rope rescue, hazardous materials emergency response, confined space rescue, structural collapse rescue, and trench rescue.

These types of rescues require specialized skills and training. They also have many OSHA requirements that fire departments must meet because of the high risk of injury and death to the rescuers. When these types of emergencies occur, the public expects us to know our job and do it efficiently. In order to meet these expectations, we must have continuos training and the proper equipment for the job.