Some fires will go unattended if strike goes ahead —chief

Press, 12 November 1977, Page 9

Some fires will go unattended if strike goes ahead —chief

NZPA London Britain has stepped up its preparations to meet the firemen’s strike, but the question is still being asked: will makeshift precautions be enough?

As both sides kept the hope of a settlement alive by promising to keep talking, a fire chief warned that some fires could blaze unattended next week if the stoppage goes ahead. It was possible that some of the old emergency fire fighting machines would never get to fires said the London chief fire officer (Mr Peter Darby). “The potential is there for a disaster,” he said. “The army can give some cover but it is completely inadequate.” Mr Darby said the army machines would not be turned out for each 999 call. Instead, a police car would go to every scene first to check that the call was genuine.

Normally, 250 appliances are on call in London’s 115 stations. But next week 105 outdated army vehicles would operate from only 10 to 12 military bases to cover the same area.

Mr Darby was guardedly hopeful that some strikers would turn out in a dire emergency.

“Knowing the firemen and their dedication to the job, I can’t really imagine them not turning out in a real emergency if they are near the station,” he said.

Earlier, the fire brigades’ union regional committee in Leeds ruled that there could be no exceptions to the strike call.

The firemen are seeking a 30 per cent pay boost. The Government has offered 10 per cent plus talks on a reduced work week. An average firefighter earns about $ll5 a week.

The firemen, along with power workers and miners, seek pay hikes that will breach the Government’s anti-inflation pay curbs limiting increases to 10 per cent a year. The swelling union unrest is a strong challenge to Mr James Callaghan’s minority Government as it works for Britain’s economic recovery following the worst depression since World War 11.

In the power dispute which has been continuing for two weeks, an all-out strike call by militant workers is being considered, even though most of the men have admitted defeat. The all-out call, by Yorkshire workers, was being considered by the shop stewards’ national committee. But Yorkshire has only two delegates in the 26-man body and could easily be outvoted. The rebels’ leader, Mf Dave Smith, admitted earlier: “We have lost the battle and should admit the fact.” With only three of the

Central Electricity Generating Board’s 137 power stations still out of action, he said: “The public, the Government, and the Trades Union Congress are all against us.” The C.E.G.8., which controls the State-run power industry, said there had been a rapid return to normal work schedules as the unnofficial action ended. The dispute has involved 4000 of the industry’s 30,000 manual workers — mostly plant attendants, maintenance men, and coal movers — earning an average of about $l2B a week,