A budget proposal in Arlington, Virginia, would combine two specialized fire rescue units into one, a move their union said would cut staff and slow response times.

The heavy rescue companies handle more of the dangerous and complex rescues — from using tools like the Jaws of Life to help people who are trapped in cars to rescuing people trapped in fires.

The local chapter of the International Association of Firefighters in Arlington said the cuts proposed by the county could endanger residents.

Currently, each the two units has four firefighters, but if the budget is passed, the combined unit would have six people on three shifts a day, which Alex Moody, vice president of health and safety for IAFF Local 2800, said will cut staffing by two people per day.

“One of the issues with condensing this down is it kind of takes away our redundancy and resiliency,” Moody said. “If we have more than one critical incident, we are at great risk of having to wait for a longer response from a neighboring jurisdiction.”

However, many neighboring jurisdictions are also consolidating their heavy rescue resources, he said. “This could increase response times for subsequent calls.”

Another proposed change Moody said would affect response time is location. According to a release from the union, the combined units would move from Ballston/Bluemont and Nauck/Douglas Park to a centralized location.

“Obviously, that’s going to increase our response time to the farther ends of the county,” Moody said. “The northernmost areas and the southernmost areas.”

Moody said the calls these units are primarily responsible for are auto accidents.

“Traditionally, we would teach the golden hour of response,” Moody said. “We would want to be able to get to you, get you out of that complicated wreck as fast as possible, so we can get you to a higher level of care as fast as possible.”

An Arlington County spokesperson told WTOP News partner 7News, “By consolidating the rescue units, the County can reduce the fire department’s overall full-time employees by four vacant firefighters with no demotions or layoffs.

“The proposal also includes adding a daytime medical transport unit with the other two FTEs from the two consolidated units,” the spokesperson said. “This addition will improve travel time during peak hours in the Clarendon corridor, where there is a high demand for medical transport calls.”