FIREFIGHTERS are nuts. I don't mean that in a bad way. It's their most endearing quality.

But anybody who would strap 20 pounds of lifesaving equipment to his back, climb a ladder above a raging fire, crawl through acrid smoke and broken glass to rescue a stranger is not wired the way normal people are.

But bless their abnormal hearts - the city is a safer place because of them.

One of the first stories I ever went out on was a raging fire in a chemical plant in South Philly 37 years ago. Even as the front wall collapsed, firefighters rushed into the plant to rescue a worker who was rumored to be inside.

They held roll calls during the fire and discovered that two of their men were missing. I saw guys dousing themselves to run into the same fireground where their brothers had fallen.

It was almost daybreak before they had it under control. They kept the fire from spreading to the surrounding rowhouses. But the two missing men never answered roll call that night.

When it was over, I saw a guy sitting on the curb in his gear, crying uncontrollably. Other firefighters stood close by but didn't even try to console him.

I never found out who that guy was, but I'd bet you that wasn't his last fire. People who fight fires aren't like the rest of us.

I was thinking about that night yesterday as I watched firefighters demonstrating outside a browned-out Engine 57 at 56th and Chestnut streets.

Bill Gault, president of Local 22 of the International Association of Fire Fighters, stood before a sign as big as a firehouse door, making his case for passers-by.

"This fire station Closed by order of Mayor Michael A Nutter," the sign said. The word "Closed" was in six-inch, red letters.

"The mayor's latest proposal, his rolling brownouts, which take effect today, is dangerous, is mistaken and is undertaken without any regard to its impact," Gault said.

I don't believe the mayor made this decision without any regard to its impact. I doubt Gault really believes that.

Even the firefighters I talked with yesterday said the rolling brownouts will probably mean the difference between a 3-minute response and a 5-minute response to a fire call. It doesn't sound like enough of a risk to justify calling the brownouts "dangerous." But firefighters are passionate about what they do, and I found myself being moved by their passion.

"Our whole job is about response time," Gault told me. "Fire spreads in minutes. Responding to heart attacks and strokes is about saving minutes.

"Two minutes doesn't sound like much, but how long can you hold your breath?"

I want to be with the bean counters on this one. I have opposed most of the mayor's revenue-raising measures, including the soda tax. Citizens were up in arms when he proposed closing libraries.

We all said Nutter should find savings before he even thinks about raising taxes or fees. There is no such thing as a $2 billion budget that doesn't have some fat in it.

So he came up with $47 million in cuts. He opted to close fire stations for a day at a time on a rotating basis to save $3.8 million in overtime costs.

I don't believe the mayor or Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers would expose the firefighters they command or the citizens they serve to a needless risk just to shave $4 million from a $2 billion budget.

There is a risk to them, too. If the difference between a 5-minute and a 3-minute response can be shown to have cost a single life, they will never live it down.

In that sense, I agree with Gault. Nutter took this action without regard to its impact.

But if it costs another $3.8 million a year to make firefighters feel as if they have everything they need, I'd be willing to kick in a few more dollars.

They may be nuts. But they're nuts about us.

Send e-mail to smithel@phillynews.com or call 215-854-2512. For recent columns: http://go.philly.com/smith