FIREFIGHTERS may not attend some emergencies if strike action goes ahead, according to a senior officer.
Assistant chief fire officer and head of safety Chris Blacksell said although Humberside Fire and Rescue Service will deal with any fires posing a clear threat to the public, some smaller emergencies may not get a response.
Fire Brigades Union (FBU) members are being balloted on strike action over a pensions dispute with the Government and may walk out as soon as Thursday, September 5.
An experienced firefighter in East Yorkshire, who wished to remain anonymous, said he feared the lack of resources could put lives at risk.
He said: "Everything starts as a small fire. You get a small incident and it just develops.
"The fire authority doesn't want industrial action because it's under-resourced. Without any hesitation whatsoever, it will put lives at risk.
"They will maybe have two fire engines operational in Hull at most and if you get a job in east Hull, what's going to happen if there's another in west Hull?"
Reserve firefighters will be called up to replace regular staff who take part in the walkout but squeezed resources mean the service cannot guarantee every fire will be dealt with.
Unlike the last strikes, when the Army stepped in with green goddess fire engines, firefighters will this time be on their own.
Mr Blacksell said: "It's a developing situation because a lot of our plans are based on what resources we have.
"If we do get a strike we won't be able to call on the Ministry of Defence to support us.
"The priority for us is going to be those types of incidents that are a threat to life. It's possible there will be normal calls to services we won't be able to investigate."
A letter sent by Mr Blacksell to businesses explains the implications if strike action goes ahead.
He said it set out the "worst-case scenario" and until a strike has been called it is not possible to know how short-staffed the service will be.
The letter says: "The service will implement a call prioritisation policy based on those types of emergencies that pose the highest risk to life e.g. domestic property fires, road traffic collisions.
"Other emergency types such as automatic fire alarms and small fires will be dealt with by a limited attendance or, in some instances, no attendance at all based on the information given to fire control at the time of call.
"The policy will be subject to continual review throughout any period of disruption to ensure optimum deployment of available resources at any particular time of day."
The union ballot is due to end on Thursday and Humberside Fire and Rescue Service has already recruited reserve staff on zero-hours contracts to fill in.
They will be given an intensive training course next week and called up if necessary.
The letter offers advice for businesses on keeping staff safe and assures them the service would do its best with the limited resources available.
It said: "During any strike action Humberside Fire and Rescue Service will still be available via the 999 telephone system as normal, and calls will be handled by our control operators as they are not part of the dispute.
"I can assure you that we will use our resources, even though they may be limited by strike action, as effectively as possible to keep communities, including our business community, as safe as we can."
Mr Blacksell said it was important for businesses to provide as much information as possible if a fire alarm was activated so the service could decide if it was a priority.
Union officials have stressed their quarrel is not with Humberside fire chiefs.
It centres on Government changes that have raised the age at which firefighters can claim a full pension to 60.
Regional union chairman Rob Vaugh said studies had shown 40 per cent of staff would not pass the brigade's fitness test at the age of 50 and 60 per cent would not pass it aged 55.
He believes the Government and fire brigades across the country are looking at ways to legally dismiss firefighters whose fitness is not up to standard.
This, he said, could mean they would get no pension at all.
• Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
