Cleveland firefighters fear they might trigger a collapse of the Inner Belt Bridge if they park multiple fire engines on it to handle a big traffic accident.

They are concerned enough that the firefighters union wants the Ohio Department of Transportation to mark the bridge to indicate which zones are safe for firefighters to park their heavy equipment in and how far away the trucks must be kept from one another without putting the bridge at risk of collapse.

Firetrucks and other emergency vehicles go on the bridge for accidents and medical emergencies, despite a ban that has been imposed on trucks and buses since October because the bridge cannot support a full load. ODOT made an exception for the emergency vehicles to use the bridge. ODOT was supposed to install markings on the bridge showing firefighters where to park but has not done that.

Chester Ashton, president of Cleveland Firefighters Union Local 93, said firefighters need to know how to properly space equipment on the bridge.

"Our equipment is no different than the semis going across the road," Ashton said. "I have a concern."

Cleveland Safety Director Martin Flask is not concerned about having multiple firetrucks on the bridge and said ODOT is committed to installing the markings.

"ODOT has assured us that the bridge is safe," Flask said.

Faye Callahan, an ODOT spokeswoman, said the agency has the markers and they will be installed as soon as the weather allows.

Thirty-four of the bridge's corroded plates have been reinforced since the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed on Aug. 1, 2007, killing 13 people and injuring 145.

ODOT reduced the number of lanes on the Interstate 90 bridge from four to two in each direction on Oct. 1 after inspections showed three steel connectors could not support a fully loaded bridge.

The state also banned heavy vehicles. The ban on trucks and buses, which requires them to detour on Interstates 490 and 77, is indefinite.

The state reopened a third lane in each direction last month after determining that about 98 percent of trucks are obeying the order to stay off the 49-year-old bridge. ODOT engineers have maintained the bridge is safe as long as the weight is reduced.

Ashton doesn't believe that state officials can guarantee safety if multiple firetrucks were on the bridge for an accident or other emergency and traffic backed up.

Firefighters would never refuse a call on the bridge, he said. But if a major accident occurred, it would be a priority to get as many cars off the bridge to alleviate weight, he said.

"If they call us, we're going to go," Ashton said.

Cleveland is prepared if the bridge collapsed, Flask said.

The city teamed with federal, state and county agencies to finalize a response plan and studied how Minneapolis handled its bridge collapse. The preparation is standard, no different from drilling about what to do if Cleveland were hit with a terrorist attack or other disaster, Flask said.

"We don't anticipate or expect a catastrophic bridge failure, but we have to prepare for that scenario," Flask said.