BRIDGEPORT — City officials want to have 16 new firefighters in training by Oct. 31, hiring from a two-year-old list of candidates.

"They're anxious to get the process complete," said Caryn Kaufman, spokeswoman for Mayor John M. Fabrizi.

The hiring is part of a city plan to cover a $1.2 million budget deficit by reducing the Fire Department's overtime costs. Four fire marshals are also being demoted and an engine company is slated for temporarily closure at 8 a.m. today.

New firefighters are paid an annual base salary of $37,742. The city's Civil Service Department has notified the first 12 people on the list by letter, and most remain interested in the job, said Ralph Jacobs, the city personnel director.

But because of the list's age, the candidates must undergo physical exams and background checks before entering a 13-week training period, said provisional Fire Chief Brian Rooney.

All firefighters serve a year's probation, starting with the training, Rooney said.

If they pass the training, they are certified by the state, and they rotate assignments for six months before being permanently assigned.

Jacobs said physical exams for the candidates are being arranged.

But legal hurdles are possible if 19 white firefighter candidates carry out a vow to halt the hiring by seeking a court injunction.

These candidates claim the test was improperly scored and want it thrown out.

The list is also controversial because three felons, including Earl King Jr., are among the candidates. King, sentenced to federal work camp in 2001 for bagging crack cocaine for the Russell and Adrian Peeler drug gang, is tied for 16th place on the list along with 10 other candidates, based on their oral exam scores.

But Jacobs recently scrapped a 69-year-old policy discouraging hiring felons as firefighters. He and the Civil Service Commission now judge candidates with felony convictions on a case-by-case basis.

If any candidate fails the physical exam or background check, or is not interested, the Civil Service Department will contact the next-ranking candidates, Jacobs said.

In the case of ties, the candidates' names are placed in a box and randomly drawn and ranked based on the order picked. The order for the 16th spot was publicly drawn last Friday, Jacobs said. King's ranking was not immediately available.

The list expires two years after the date of the first hiring.