Andy Gilchrist, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, forecast the Channel and Severn tunnels, London Underground and sections of the Tyne and Wear metro and Merseyrail network would all shut and airports could close when crews walked out.
He said a new emphasis on safety after a series of disasters would prevent directors and managers operating trains or events if troops crewing green goddesses were unable to give guarantees that they could deal with emergencies.
As he warned that today's FBU conference could set a timetable to start industrial action from the end of October, Mr Gilchrist said firefighters played a much bigger role in society than during the last, and only, national strike in 1977-78.
"It is entirely conceivable that we could see the second national strike before the end of October," he said. "We are absolutely determined this will be the year we put the sword to low pay in the fire service."
The RMT union last night said it was to ballot workers on London Underground, Tyne and Wear and Merseyside to spark government fears of secondary stoppages staged as safety disputes.
French firefighters would not do the work of strikers from Kent, said Mr Gilchrist, so the Channel tunnel would close because service personnel were not trained for such conditions.
The union has rejected a 4% pay offer for workers who earn £21,531, made in response to a 40% claim, and Mr Gilchrist said at the TUC conference in Blackpool that the FBU would play "absolutely no part" in a government pay review.
He also accused the government of blocking £280m needed to equip the emergency services to fight a terrorist biological or chemical attack, or major assault such as that on the Twin Towers.
On the first anniversary of the September 11 hijackings, he urged the government to "put its money where its mouth is" to protect the public.
The cost of providing specialist equipment, extra staff and training to deal with a terrorist strike was calculated by an emergency working party set up by the government in the aftermath of last year's al-Qaeda operation.
It spent 10 months "thinking the unthinkable", he said, and the new dimension group, in cluding Whitehall officials, fire chiefs, union leaders, local authority employers and other experts, calculated the total cost of adequate protection at £330m, yet it came up with just £53m.
Mr Gilchrist said funds were needed for heavy lifting gear and equipment such as thermal imaging cameras to trace bodies in debris.
· Harrods' owner, Mohammed al Fayed, is negotiating to re-recognise the shopworkers' union Usdaw at Harrods in central London 10 years after terminating an agreement.
