METHUEN - The three firefighters in the Howe Street station have a tough choice to make each time an emergency call comes in.

They must decide whether to head out in the fire engine complete with water and pumps, or to take the ladder truck, which has equipment that can reach the roof and upper floors of a building.

"Hopefully they choose the correct one," said fire Lt. Timothy Sheehy, head of the local union, because each truck serves a different need in a rescue or fire situation.

In the past, those firefighters wouldn't have to choose because the North End station would have five people on duty, enough to operate both trucks.

But that's not the case anymore.

Since March 25, the Fire Department has been operating with only three firefighters in the North End station on most days. It is part of a cost-saving move to help reduce spiralling overtime expenses.

"We take a chance on which truck they take," fire Chief Cliff Gallant said. "It's a compromise neither the mayor or I wanted to make. The money is not there. Something had to give. There is a compromise in safety. We'll respond, one way or another. If I gave my guys a pickup truck and a garden hose, they'd respond."

Gallant said the department should have 23 firefighters on duty at all times. Because of budget constraints, the department has routinely operated with just 21 people at a time, he said. Now they've cut back more, operating with just 19 per shift for the last three weeks, he said.

The chief said he expects to continue operating with 19 firefighters until June 30 and perhaps even after that.

"There is no way we could stay within (the budget) and run with 21 people," Gallant said.

The problem is the department has spent all the $600,000 that was budgeted this year for overtime. The department is also more than halfway through the additional $100,000 in overtime money that it received from the mayor in December.

Gallant said the department has had an unusually high number of firefighters out on long-term medical leave - nine members out in January alone. When firefighters are out long-term, other members of the department are paid overtime to fill those spots. Firefighters also earn overtime to fill in when people are out sick or using vacation or personal time.

Gallant said use of regular sick days is not to blame, but that long-term medical issues are causing the larger staffing problem.

"This is one of the worst years we had," he said.

In 2006, the department averaged 2.6 firefighters out long-term per month. This year, that average is 5.8 people per month. With so many firefighters out in January, overtime costs for that one month totalled more than $67,000. In January 2006, the department spent about $28,000 on overtime.

Mayor William Manzi said the department initially received $600,000 for overtime for the year, the same amount it has received since 2001.

"We're trying to get through budget cycle in one piece," Manzi said, adding the $100,000 in supplemental overtime money was the most he could provide. "It's not an optimum situation. I feel confident (firefighters) will be able to respond in a manner that is satisfactory to the residents of the city."

The firefighters union says the city has routinely underfunded the department's overtime needs and now it is a safety concern.

"With fewer personnel responding to incidents and arriving on scene, critical minutes are lost in providing emergency medical services, rescue and fire suppression," Sheehy wrote in a letter to the City Council. "This department is being forced to operate dangerously under-staffed."

Sheehy said the cutbacks strain services and force the department to rely on more assistance from neighboring communities through a mutual aid agreement.

Gallant said the situation should improve in the coming weeks. Three firefighters are going through the training process and should be ready to join the department full time in about a month. Two other firefighters are out on leave and have applied for medical retirement. Once those retirements are granted by the state, money will be freed up in the department to hire new firefighters and fill shifts without needing overtime, Gallant said.

BOX

Methuen Fire Department overtime

$600,000 originally budgeted

$100,000 extra given by the city

$660,705 total spent to date

$39,395 is left for the year