SAN DIEGO -- Members of the public chided a San Diego City Council committee Wednesday for emergency services cuts that they argued contributed to the death of a toddler who choked on a gumball.

"How many more of us have to die before you end the brownouts?" Mel Shapiro asked members of the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee.

The comments were made during a monthly status report on San Diego's so- called brownout program, which idles fire engine companies on a rotating basis in an effort to save the city $11.5 million annually.

That program came under increased scrutiny last week following the death of 2-year-old Bentley Do.

It took firefighters 9 1/2 minutes to respond a week ago today to a 911 call that the child was choking on a gumball at a Mira Mesa home, well beyond the five-minute national standard response time. The toddler was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

A fire engine located nearby was unavailable due to the city's brownout program, resulting in a "significantly delayed response," San Diego Fire- Rescue Department Javier Mainar told the committee. Had the engine been available, it could have been at the home within two minutes, Mainar said.

The chief also said multiple incidents at the same time as the choking call also contributed to the slow response.

"What we don't know -- and I do not know whether the medical examiner will be able to shed any light on this -- is whether that more rapid response would have allowed us to save the child's life," he said. "We simply don't know."

Mainar said the brownouts, instituted in February, have resulted in the further deterioration of response times in parts of San Diego, particularly Kearny Mesa, Mira Mesa, University City and Rancho Penasquitos.

He said the cuts have also led to a reduction in fire inspections and less time for firefighter training.

Andy Berg, with the Rancho Penasquitos Town Council, criticized City Council for not restoring the fire cuts.

"I am mad at you because frankly you didn't do your damn job," Berg told the committee."You didn't do your job and a kid is dead, plain and simple."

Councilman Tony Young last week sent a memo to Mayor Jerry Sanders, asking him to immediately end the brownouts. Councilwoman Marti Emerald, who chairs the Public Safety Committee, made a similar request several months ago.

Emerald inquired whether San Diego could dip into its reserves to come up with the money needed to restore the fire engine cuts, but Jay Goldstone, Sanders' chief operating officer, said the mayor has "no intention" of using reserve funds.

Councilman Todd Gloria said he is hopeful the City Council can resurrect a November ballot measure asking voters to approve a half-cent sales tax to provide more resources for public safety.

"You can only do what we give you," Gloria said. "I am doing my damnedest to give you more."

The sales tax proposal was thought to have died when Councilwoman Donna Frye voted against it earlier this week. However, Frye has said she may support putting the sales tax increase on the ballot if it is linked to a package of fiscal reforms.

The City Council is tentatively scheduled to take up the issue on Monday.