SEATTLE — Seattle firefighters have spent the last few years arguing that the only safe fire truck is one that has four fire fighters on board, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer Reporter on December 22. Now they are asking for the support of Seattle voters. On December 21, the Seattle Fire Fighters Union Local 27 announced that members have voted to try to put a measure on next November's ballot that would require the city to staff all engine and truck companies with four firefighters. Of 536 union ballots counted, 62 percent were in favor of the measure being put before voters, and 38 percent were against it. "We believe that the city should provide public safety and firefighter safety with minimum national safety standards," union President Paul Atwater said yesterday. "That's a basic priority of government." The union argues that it is unsafe to staff engine and truck companies with fewer than four firefighters, citing a standard of the National Fire Protection Association. But fire department leadership has already made clear that it opposes the measure, which the union has dubbed Ready 4 Rescue. "My position hasn't changed on this," Fire Chief Gregory Dean said after learning of the vote. "I think this not the right plan for firefighter safety or the safety of the public." Currently, of the city's 44 rigs, 10 have three-member crews on board. Department officials say an ever-shrinking budget has required them to make staffing adjustments to maintain services. Dean has said that if he were required to staff all 44 trucks and engines with four firefighters, he would have to close some fire stations, increasing the time it would take for the remaining companies to respond to emergencies. The firefighter positions required to meet what the union wants would cost $4 million annually. The department has a budget of $117 million.