CROWN POINT | The city of Gary may face separate lawsuits from its Fire and Police departments regarding shrinking manpower.

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As the city battles a lawsuit filed last week by police officers that centers on wages and work hours, it has begun cutting firefighters' hours. The move left the department about 40 short Monday, officials said.

An attorney for the firefighters union is considering filing a lawsuit similar to the police suit, union President Capt. Raynard Robinson said.

Starting Sunday, city officials began calling firefighters, up to 10 at a time, telling them not to come to work, Robinson said. The department usually staffs 71 people a day. On Monday, it was down to 32.

"It's crazy," Robinson said. "We were already 40 men short before this happened."

The cases pit public safety against the city, where all departments are facing 20 percent salary reductions in a financial belt-tightening.

Robinson said a January court decision set four as the minimum number of firefighters to be staffed on an on-call rig.

On Friday, city attorney Hamilton Carmouche sent a memo to Fire Chief Jeffrey Ward calling the union's contract void and saying: "Therefore, you are ordered to operate the fire engines and firetrucks with a minimum of three firefighters."

Carmouche has called Police Department contracts outdated as a defense for trying to alter and shorten officer schedules. Carmouche did not return a call Monday seeking comment on the Fire Department schedule situation.

Eleven fire rigs currently operate in the city, Robinson said Monday. A typical house fire, such as the one to which the department responded Monday morning, takes four rigs, he said.

Robinson said the shrinking manpower adds worry to an already stressful job.

"We don't know what we're walking into at any given point in time," he said. "Police, firemen and medics are the last things you should consider (cutting)."

The shift cutting is hitting a Fire Department already beset with financial woes affecting everyday operations, Robinson said. He complained of leaking roofs at all of the city's stations and a severe shortage in supplies.

As with police officers, keeping some firefighters home could hurt those who depend on two jobs for needed income.

On Monday, Lake County Circuit Court Judge Lorenzo Arredondo approved Gary's request to move the case between the city and police to a new courtroom, but it remained unclear where the case will land.

Last week, Arredondo issued a temporary restraining order halting a 20 percent pay cut for Gary officers and a schedule shift its union said could hurt the department.