IPFW Is there a way to make ipfw not reset connections when it restarts?

I operate one single ipfw config file that protects a number of jails. When making modifications to the configuration it seems to reset my network connections whenever I restart the ipfw service. Being that one of my jails operates a network service that is continuously monitored and even a five or six second outage is noticed, I would like to keep my connections alive while the firewall resets. Is there anything I can do to keep the connection alive when the firewall resets?
 
Edit your firewall script and reload the firewall script instead of restart of ipfw.
Use "ipfw table" where applicable. Update table's records to apply some changes on the fly.
To avoid blocking any traffic try to add some rule like 'ipfw add 1 allow all from xxx to xxx" before reloading the firewall script, and remove that rule when firewall script reloaded.
Try to use SETS OF RULES.
Code:
SETS OF RULES
     Each rule or table belongs to one of 32 different sets , numbered 0 to
     31.  Set 31 is reserved for the default rule.
     By default, rules or tables are put in set 0, unless you use the set N
     attribute when adding a new rule or table.  Sets can be individually and
     atomically enabled or disabled, so this mechanism permits an easy way to
     store multiple configurations of the firewall and quickly (and
     atomically) switch between them.
 
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