We hope Luken is just reading between the lines. What we need is less heat and more reason in this debate. We trust the firefighters not to do anything to jeopardize safety. We expect the city to explain the reasoning behind the six houses selected for the so-called "brownout" and to use more care in scheduling to prevent any further understaffing, such as occurred last week.

Brownouts occur when Fire Chief Robert Wright elects to put companies out of service when firefighters call in sick. This helps to cut down on overtime. The fire department is trying to keep from going $2 million over budget this year, mostly associated with overtime costs. But this is where the heat comes in. Some firefighters say brownouts jeopardize public safety, and the union wants to keep all the stations open.

Last week, 10 fire trucks operated with fewer than the required four-firefighter crews. Wright acknowledged a scheduling mistake, and the union filed a grievance and threatened legal action. The union cited federal and state recommendations, and the local contract that say four firefighters must be on a truck before it can go to a fire.

The union letter dated Sept. 23 by vice president Joe Arnold said members should "respond appropriately, stopping at all red lights, stop signs, etc." It also said members should let the union know about any runs that were affected by the brownouts.

Though union president Joe Diebold and spokesman Doug Stern Sunday told the Enquirer that the union would not advocate a slowdown, Luken still doesn't believe it.

"That's winking and nodding," Luken said Monday, and the letter "certainly implies" a slowdown to raise public complaints at City Hall.

Luken said he will not tolerate a repeat of what happened in 2001, when police became "less than aggressive" after some officers were accused of brutality. What's more Luken said, the union shouldn't be telling firefighters how to drive; that should be left to supervisors.

No one wants to see the city at odds with an organization vital to public safety. The city has said it is open to alternative cost savings. But that can't happen unless reason has the loudest voice.