Fire staff across the country are due to walk out on a 48 strike from 6pm on Wednesday in a dispute over pay - and there are a further three strikes planned before the end of the year if negotiations continue to fail.
The Army is stepping in to provide cover, but there are concerns that Warwickshire will suffer as its 42 fire appliances are being replaced by only seven Green Goddesses, the famous Army fire tenders.
However, some help could come from retained firefighters in Warwickshire who have not yet confirmed they will join the walk-out.
Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service press officer Brian George said he did not know which crews were set to stay in situ when the strike begins, but confirmation should come later today.
It looks as if retained crews in Shipston will be staying put when the lock-out starts and more could be joining them.
Meanwhile, a leading member of the Fire Brigades Union has warned that feelings among members in Warwickshire are running very high.
Firefighters will abandon their posts at 6pm this evening and stay away for two days.
Last-ditch negotiations to avoid the action collapsed yesterday when employers offered 11% over two years instead of the 40% rise being demanded by the union.
Nori Henderson, the FBU secretary in Warwickshire, said the findings of Bain report into firefighters' pay - which formed the basis of the pay offer - came as a "bitter disappointment".
Mr Henderson added the dispute had the potential to equal the nine-week strike of 1977.
A senior West Midlands fire officer said striking officers will respond to a major emergency during the strike.
The station officer of
Coventry' s Radford Road station, Dany Moynahan, said they will respond to a major crisis.
Meanwhile an expert in industrial relations at Warwick University said the fire strikes follow a trend in public service dissatisfaction with their pay.
Professor Mike Terry said the rise in action is an accumulation of years of unhappiness.
Should the firefighters strike or should they have taken what they were offered? Is the cover allocated for Coventry and Warwickshire adequate?
Let us know on our special Fire Strike talkboard by following the link on the left.
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