Budget cuts in Alameda have shuttered a fire station and resulted in the layoffs of firefighters, but the town's $195,702-a-year fire chief is getting unlimited free fill-ups for both his BMW convertible sports car and his Honda pickup truck at the city pump.

Disgruntled firefighters caught Fire Chief David Kapler on camera over the weekend taking advantage of the perk and forwarded the photos to Mayor Beverly Johnson - who promptly called the vacationing city manager for an explanation.

"In my opinion, it was a very inappropriate thing to do," the mayor said of Kapler's habit of filling his cars with gratis gasoline.

Kapler, however, says it's no secret that he regularly gases up his personal cars at the city pump. He says the free gas is part of the deal he cut with then-City Manager Debra Kurita when he signed on as chief in 2007.

"Since I don't drive a city vehicle," Kapler said, "I was given the option to drive my own vehicle and to have access to city gas for all my vehicles for my personal use."

Maybe, but Kapler's contract doesn't actually say anything about fueling up for free.

"It is not in there," Karen Willis, the city's human resources director, told us after looking over the agreement. "Whether there was some other understanding, I don't know."

The contract does state that given his round-the-clock duties, the chief is entitled to a $250-a-month car allowance if he uses his own car "for 'on call' responsibilities."

Dom Weaver, president of the 86-member Alameda Firefighters Association, which is battling the city over a new contract and voted "no confidence" in the chief last year, said, "I'm shocked and disappointed this is going on, especially in light of the current conditions we're facing."

However, it should be noted that it has been going on for years - with the chief often filling up at a pump right next to the firehouse.

Seems no one cared all that much - until Alameda hit on hard times, laying off three firefighters and scrapping 15 unfilled positions 15 months ago.

Johnson, however, said she hadn't known about the chief's free gasoline until firefighters showed her the photos Tuesday morning.

"The city manager wasn't aware of it, and I am sure she will conduct a full review of what has occurred here," Johnson said.

Officers down: Five months after the scandal at the San Francisco crime lab broke wide open, heads are beginning to roll down at police HQ.

We're told that two members of the command staff - Assistant Chief Kevin Cashman and Cmdr. John Loftus, who was in charge of the investigations bureau - have been demoted to captain.

A third command staff member, Assistant Chief Morris Tabak, is expected to retire.

The official announcement could come any day now. The three didn't return calls for comment, and neither did the Police Officers Association.

The three were under the gun for not ordering a criminal probe into suspicions that lab tech Deborah Madden was pilfering cocaine when the allegations first surfaced last year.

Madden has since retired. She is facing an unrelated cocaine case in San Mateo County, but has not been charged in connection with the alleged drug-lab thefts.

The suspicions were enough, however, to prompt the district attorney's office to toss out hundreds of small-time drug cases and eventually led to the lab's closure.

Chief George Gascón has said no one filled him in on the Madden problem until late February.

Word is, more heads are likely to hit the floor.

Like it or not: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsomhas been decidedly restrained in expressing his support for same-sex marriage following Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker's ruling to overturn Proposition 8.

Newsom put out a news release after Walker issued his decision Aug. 4, but there have been no national TV appearances - and definitely no "like it or not" statements.

With his bid for lieutenant governor in high gear, Newsom and his handlers are hammering on jobs, the environment and education - issues they hope will attract independent voters come November.

Campaign kickoff: San Francisco Historical Society President Jim Lazarus was talking with a friend outside the group's headquarters on Market Street the other afternoon when his buddy said, "Turn around."

He did and watched as two stark-naked guys walked down the tourist-packed street.

One looked to be in his early 50s. The other, in his 30s, was carrying a "George Davis for Supervisor District 6" sign.

The next evening Lazarus was relating the sighting to a couple at the Giants-Cubs game at AT&T Park when the guy in front of him turned around and said, "Hey, I saw the same guys Tuesday."

For full exposure to the Davis campaign, we recommend going to the "George Davis District Six's Blog" website. We also suggest you don't do it while at work.

EXTRA! Catch our blog at www.sfgate.com/matierandross.