Sheboygan's fire union made their pitch last night for adding more firefighters to the department. Leaders of the union laid out a presentation to the city's Committee of the Whole as to why they want to see a least three more firefighters in the department and changes made to how battalion chiefs are scheduled. Local 483 President Chase Longmiller says they're looking for more help when it comes to getting to fires. "We recommended to the city that they re-appropriate the funds to get the three firefighters that were cut at the start of the year, and that management change some of the staffing on their front office so that the north side and far south side ladder companies can be properly staffed with three personnel to provide immediate fire protection and EMS services." Under current conditions, the far north and south fire stations only have enough crew members to have two people running in a ladder truck, along with two more EMS personnel coming to a scene in an ambulance. Longmiller told the committee that a split crew took a minute 1:35 seconds longer to deploy a hose to the front door of a structure than a 4 person company. It also found that communication deteriorated with a split crew because the officer of the crew can't communicate with his men on the way out to handle a fire once they get on scene. "Having that additional personnel, making them go to three, will allow them to get on scene and pull hose lines and conduct initial fire attack and search and rescue." There's currently funding for three firefighters and a new battalion chief in the city's 2017 budget, and Longmiller says he's hoping they'll stay there in order to help keep the city safe and on code.