The firefighters' strike remained solid today as troops with antiquated green goddess tenders continued to answer 999 calls following the overnight deaths of three people in house fires.
In all three of last night's fatal cases, rescuers were quickly on the scene and it was not immediately apparent whether the opening night of the first firefighters' strike in 25 years had any bearing.
Today just after 3pm, four green goddesses were called to the first large fire which has started during the strike at premises used for storing fireworks in the Ancoats area of Manchester city centre.
Within eight minutes an appliance was at the scene and soldiers are currently trying to get the blaze under control with the core of the building still ablaze approaching 7pm. One worker who had been evacuated from a nearby building said that when the fire first caught alight, it was "like bonfire night" and fireworks could be seen arcing into the sky.
Two people were reportedly taken to hospital but there were not thought to be any serious injuries. However, the incident did raise questions about how well trained and equipped the army were to deal with large fires.
Earlier in the Commons, the deputy prime minister, John Prescott, indicated the government was hardening its position by refusing to rule out the army breaking pickets to commandeer fire service trucks - something union leaders vehemently oppose.
Later Downing Street said that 15 red fire engines had been transferred from the national fire training college which the government probably correctly feels is less likely to aggravate the union.
The fire service has around 2,300 fire engines, while cover during the strike currently relies heavily on the 800 or so 40-year old green goddesses.
No10 said the 15 engines were being made available to troops at various locations around the country to augment the military's current capacity "at the margins".
The prime minister's spokesman also confirmed that there were a further 100 red fire engines held in reserve. However, he stressed that they would not necessarily all be available for possible use by the troops as they were normally used to provide back up to replace other fire engines if they broke down or were out of service.
He added that at the moment the military was still preferring to use the Green Goddesses on which they had trained.
Before No10s announcement, the leader of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), Andrew Gilchrist said he believed it would be "potentially very dangerous" to allow troops to take fire tenders out of fire stations during the strike because it takes four years training to use them.
The union also pointed out that strikers would not be able to break picket lines to help in emergencies if troops took away fire tenders from fire stations.
Although there has been no clear evidence attributing the strike to any of the deaths, there was an indication, however, that the night - which saw more than 50,000 firefighters on strike - was worse than average in terms of fire fatalities. The latest figures, which relate to 2000, indicate that on an average day 1.63 people die in a fire, although the 2000 statistics were said to represent a 40-year low.
Last night hundreds of hoax calls across the country - which were particularly acute in Scotland - hampered the retained, non-striking firefighters and the army in providing emergency cover. Politicians said today that hoax fire callers were expected to be fast-tracked through the courts as they were putting lives at risk.
The first fatality came just an hour after the firefighters went on strike last night at 6pm when a 76-year-old woman died after a fire broke out at her home in Newtown, mid-Wales. Firefighters crossed picket lines to attend this and some other emergencies, although without normal fire service communications they were not hearing of every serious incident.
Then at 10.22pm an elderly man suffering from smoke inhalation was pulled from a burning house in Burnley, Lancashire. He was dead on arrival at hospital. And at 1.06am another elderly man died after troops were called to a fire in a flat in Halesowen, West Midlands.
An HGV driver also died following a three-lorry pile-up on the northbound carriageway of the M6 motorway in Cumbria. The man was cut free from the cab of his UK-registered lorry by retained firefighters following the crash at around 11.15pm yesterday about a mile north of Tebay services.
No signs of breakthrough
Mr Gilchrist, said any "serious and significant" pay offer would be considered, but there were no signs of any moves to break the deadlocked pay dispute.
In the Commons, Mr Prescott reported to MPs on the contingency plans for dealing with the nationwide walkout, which will continue until 6pm tomorrow. He said: "It is the sanctity of life that governs my approach to this, not the sanctity of the picket line."
There are three eight-day strikes planned for before Christmas and there are fears the dispute will go into the new year.
At a rally in Edinburgh today, attended by some 500 FBU members, Mr Gilchrist was greeted with rapturous applause. He applauded firefighters who crossed picket lines in emergencies and said: "Firefighters take seriously any death in any fire that they attend and our condolences are with the families and friends."
Local authority employers were meeting today to consider their next move in the dispute, but there was no hint of an improvement on an 11.3% pay offer over two years, which the union has attacked as "insulting". The FBU wants a 40% pay rise to take salaries to £30,000 a year.
Strike and heavy rains hit transport around the country
Many London Underground drivers refused to work normally because of safety fears, causing massive delays and cancelled services across the capital. The normally packed Waterloo and City line was suspended and services on other lines were seriously hit, with 22 stations closed or partially closed because they are serviced by lifts. These are: Belsize Park, Borough, Caledonian Road, Chalk Farm, Covent Garden, Edgware Road (Bakerloo station), Elephant and Castle, Goodge St, Hampstead, Holland Park, Holloway Road, Kennington, Lambeth North, Lancaster Gate, Mornington Crescent, Queensway, Regent's Park, Russell Square, Tufnell Park, and Wapping.
The other two stations affected are Gloucester Road (Piccadilly line services closed but District/Circle part of the line open) and Shadwell, which will close during the morning and evening peak periods only.
Bob Crow, general secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport union, said his members had reported for work on the tube but he maintained they had the right "and responsibility" not to undertake duties that put themselves and others in danger.
People hit by heavy overnight rain which left many parts of Britain under siege from flooding were today told that emergency services would consider each case on "merit" before mobilising green goddesses.
Severe flooding affected main line services in western England, while landslips caused problems for passengers in Wales and the West Midlands.
The flooding hit services run by First Great Western, Virgin Trains and Wessex Trains and passengers were warned to expect short-notice alterations, cancellations and delays.
Almost two inches of rain fell on the worst affected areas in Cornwall and South West England, prompting the Environment Agency to issue 53 flood warnings.
