The last time the City Council held a contentious hearing on Fire Department cuts, the budget was already approved and it was too late to stop them from closing four companies overnight, including Engine Co. 161 in Staten Island's South Beach community.

With the stakes even higher this time - 12 more companies and dozens of ambulance shifts are now in danger - the Council held a hearing today on the latest spending plan a full three months before its members are set to vote on it. At a rally outside City Hall, members of the public, firefighters and representatives from the Uniform Firefighter Association (UFA) made it clear that any city legislator, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg, will suffer the consequences if the proposal becomes a reality.

"If you close firehouses, you lose the support of the UFA, you absolutely will lose the support of all UFA members and every family member of every UFA member that lives in the city of New York," said UFA president Steve Cassidy.

Under Bloomberg's fiscal year 2010 budget, which starts July 1, the FDNY could shutter a total of 16 engine companies and eliminate 30 Emergency Medical Service tours to help trim about $62 million from its budget. Among those 16 companies would be the four selected to be closed from 6 p.m. to 9 a.m. in November's budget modification, and 12 others the FDNY has yet to identify. The EMS service cuts could be even more severe and far-reaching: The city could be forced to slash an additional 100 ambulance tours on top of the 30 already proposed if the state sticks to its plan to withhold $60 million in federal Medicaid funding that was earmarked for such services.

As an alternative to the closings, Bloomberg proposed reducing manpower at 60 engine companies across the city from five to four firefighters, which would thus give them the flexibility to curb overtime.

"If they are going to ask us to renege on our contract, we'll address that when that time comes. But believe me, there is a lot of money in the Fire Department budget that can be slashed before they ever look at closing one firehouse," Cassidy said.

Under pressure by Council members and the public, the Fire Department has been staffing Engine 161 and the three other closed companies with surplus firefighters when they are available. But because the FDNY won't be getting any recruits this year, the department surplus will likely run out within a few months.

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