More than 50,000 firefighters were today voting on whether to go on strike for the first time since the 1970s.
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) is urging its member to say yes to industrial action in support of a near 40% pay rise that could see firefighters staging a mass walkout by the end of October.
If the strike goes ahead, soldiers driving green goddess fire engines will answer 999 calls, leaving the government facing its most serious industrial crisis since its election in 1997.
The FBU is pressing for a 40% rise to put qualified firefighters on £30,000 a year after formally rejecting a 4% offer during negotiations. It says that firefighters are at present underpaid on £21,531 a year and are forced to take second jobs or claim state benefits.
The general secretary, Andy Gilchrist, said today he was "absolutely confident" there would be an overwhelming mandate for industrial action on pay.
"It's entirely conceivable the National Fire Service strike will begin before the end of October," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
Sir Jeremy Beecham, chair of the local government association, told the programme he agreed that firefighters deserved a new pay formula, but said an increase of pay above 4% must be linked to modernisation.
But Mr Gilchrist said modernisation was a distraction. "This is the finest fire service in the world. That is no accident - that's my members' job over the last 25 years," he said.
"We are committed to the future modernisation. The issue of pay is a tradition we want to get rid of because it is so low."
Employers representing English, Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish fire authorities said they had conducted an opinion poll among 1,000 members of the public that showed the majority would not support a strike.
Two thirds of those questioned believed the employer's offer of 4% plus an independent inquiry into firefighters' pay was reasonable, while 53% described the union demand as unreasonable.
Four out of five of those questioned said they believed any increase above 4% should be linked to changes to the fire service and a majority were confident that the army would provide adequate cover if there was a strike.
The employers said the research highlighted growing unease among the public over wage demands in the public sector.
The employers urged firefighters to think carefully before casting their vote and said they should consider the 4% offer and wait for the findings of the review, which will report at the end of the year.
"Despite the FBU's stubborn refusal to cooperate with the inquiry, union members have nothing to lose in waiting until the inquiry reports", said a spokeswoman for the employers.
The FBU also attacked the announcement that troops from the joint rapid reaction forces trained to crew the green goddesses are to be redeployed.
"It is unbelievable that this government can treat the public of this country with such contempt," Mr Gilchrist said.
But a government spokesman said: "These changes do not diminish in any way the level of cover that the Ministry of Defence could provide in the event of a strike."
