The proposed contract, rejected last week by a vote of 177-1, would have given retroactive raises of 2 percent for 2004 and 2005, and 3 percent for the fiscal year that began last July, with an additional 3 percent in 2007, said Fire Chief Brian Rooney.

"I felt that the proposed agreement was very fair and equitable," Mayor John M. Fabrizi said Friday. "We worked on this agreement for a long time."

The likely next step is state-brokered arbitration, Fabrizi said.

Firefighter Robert Whitbread, president of the Bridgeport Fire Fighters Association Local 834, said he would call Fabrizi this week to discuss the dispute.

While he didn't immediately recall the number of union members eligible to vote, there were 293 union members as of the union's last contract vote in 2003. Also, 13 rookies were hired this year.

Members of the fire union, who have not had a contract with the city since July 2004, voted on the city's proposal over two nights last week at the Pequonnock Yacht Club.

Rooney, who confirmed some of the proposal's terms, said he was disappointed at the contract's rejection and hoped to avoid arbitration.

"I was hoping that we could move on," Rooney said Friday.

"Going to arbitration is very time-consuming. It's a lot of work for both parties," he added.

Rooney, who worked for 34 years in the Fire Department before rising to chief in May, is no longer a union member.

The chief added that some terms of the proposed contract are better than those in other city unions' contracts.

A source familiar with the proposed contract said it would have raised doctor's office co-payments to $20 from $10; prescription co-pays from a flat $5 to three tiers, $5, $10 and $25; and health insurance premiums from $12.70 per week for a family to about $36 per week.

Single, or married but childless, firefighters now pay less per week than those with families, and would also see a cost increase.

Aaron Leo, who covers regional issues, can be reached at 330-6222.