ALAMEDA -- Some Alameda firefighters are sounding the alarm. They say a budget-trimming plan could put residents' safety at risk. As KTVU'S Amber Lee reports, at Alameda City Hall tonight, firefighters and residents tried to convince the city not to cut emergency services.

Alameda has only two ladder fire trucks. Firefighters call them rolling tool boxes. Each truck contains a 100-foot aerial ladder and all the tools firefighters say are essential to fighting fires and saving lives.

Fire Chief Dave Kapler says the truck ladder can "reach most of the floors in most of the buildings here in Alameda. We don't have as many high-rises as Oakland or San Francisco, but we have Victorians with steep roofs. It's one of the advantages of the truck."

The city is asking every department to make eight percent cutbacks, with fire and police departments required to make smaller cuts of four percent each. City leaders say the cuts are necessary to deal with the $5 million budget deficit.

To engineer the cuts, Chief Kapler is proposing to take one of the city's two fire trucks out of service on a rotating basis, every time staff levels fall below 27 firefighters. Critics say because of vacation and sick days, that would happen almost every day.

Chief Kapler says all of Alameda's smaller trucks, five fire engines, will remain in operation because they carry the paramedics, the water pumps and the hoses. Kapler says it makes the most budget sense to cut the use of ladder trucks, but did acknowledge that it may mean longer response times to emergencies.

Domenick Weaver, president of the Alameda Firefighters Union, says the idea is like "playing Russian Roulette" with residents. "it's taking one of our essential firefighting equipment emergency response vehicles out for the day, to save money." In protest, dozens of firefighters and their supporters walked into tonight's meeting in unison.

Meanwhile a downtown business owner is concerned about the impact of losing a ladder truck. The owner of the Hobnob Restaurant, which is located in a two-story building, says he's worried about longer response times. Mike Voisenat says, "the difference could mean a little damage in my kitchen or my restaurant being burnt down, not to mention the people who live upstairs."

Critics say Alameda should deal with the budget deficit by increasing revenues, such as raising the parcel tax or sales tax instead of cutting services that affect public safety. The city council is tentatively scheduled to vote on the matter on June 17th.