A group of Gordon Heights Fire District residents, unhappy with paying what are reportedly Long Island's highest fire taxes, have begun circulating a petition to dissolve the district — an unprecedented action in the state of New York say some experts.

"I've been doing this 30 years and I've never heard of a district being dissolved," said William Young, counsel to the Association of Fire Districts for the State of New York.

While Gordon Heights fire officials say the call for dissolution is unwarranted, petitioners say average fire tax bills of $1,344 — nearly four times higher than one neighboring district — demand a radical solution.

Gina Previte, one of the petition organizers, said the group has gathered more than 200 signatures, more than half the amount needed to hold public hearings and potentially bring about town board vote on the district's fate.

"We've got a fire department that's out of control," said one petition signer, William Gadson, 53, whose 2006 bill comes to $1,410. "Whatever our neighbors are paying, that's what we want to pay."

Asst. Chief Erton Rudder insists the issue runs deeper than cost. "A closed firehouse symbolizes a reduction in safety in the community," he said. "This fire department is the glue that holds this community together."

The Gordon Heights fire department, which protects fewer than 900 homes, has an annual budget of nearly $1.5 million and a fleet of 20 vehicles. Fire Commissioner Phillip Gordon blamed costly federal safety mandates and said commissioners were considering ways to reduce the tax burden.