Members of the United Firefighters of Los Angeles gathered on the steps of City Hall on Thursday to protest recent budget cuts.

At issue were the so-called "brownouts," the temporary suspension of 15 fire trucks, nine ambulances, and 87 firefighters per day. Which specific trucks and personnel are on hold vary from week to week. No firefighters have been laid off, but they have been getting less overtime than usual. Without the brownouts, there would be about 1,100 firemen on duty each day.

Speaking at the press conference, president of the union Pat McOsker claimed that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was "downsizing the LAFD."

The mayor's office did not respond to a request for a statement.

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn joined the firefighters and expressed her opposition to the cutbacks.

"To have implemented brownouts at this time of year," that is, in the wake of the recent forest fires, "particularly after a long-standing drought, I dare say, was reckless and irresponsible," the councilwoman said.  

Hahn wore a "Remember 9/11" pin on her right lapel. She reminded those in attendance that it was the day before the anniversary of the terrorist attacks.

"After 9/11, all we could do was talk about how important firefighters were," she said. "I'm working to see how we can keep our fire stations fully operational."

McOsker said that the firefighters had made an alternate proposal to save money.

"We've made a no-strings-attached offer to the city to save enough money to carry us for the next two months," he said.

The proposal includes offers to defer sick pay and uniform allowance. He said these proposals would save less than $6 million.

Councilwoman Hahn suggested that dipping into the city's already depleted reserve fund, if necessary, could cover the remainder.

Hahn said that having fewer firefighters available "may result in needless injuries and loss of life." She made a reference to the 3-year-old boy who died in a swimming pool in Bel Air, suggesting that without the brownouts, LAFD response time would have been shorter, and the boy's life "may have" been saved.

When asked if there was any evidence to back up her claim, she replied, "I don't have that evidence, but for me, if it was my 3-year-old in the back yard, and I was calling 9-1-1, I guarantee you I would feel like a few minutes would have made a difference."

A lighter moment in the middle of the news conference, when city employees began filing out of the building because of a fire drill, gave Hahn another opportunity to make the case for keeping firefighters on the job.

"Apparently there's a fire drill going on right now, which is why everybody is pouring out of city hall," Councilwoman Hahn said. "But it's a drill. What if it were the real thing?"