Further fire strikes could not be ruled out last night despite union leaders voting for a compromise in their bitter pay dispute.

The 250 delegates of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) voted 2-1 to recommend proposals by Professor Frank Burchill, the independent chairman of the service's negotiating body, as a basis for a negotiated settlement.

The leadership voted 31,859 in favour of the Burchill proposals and 15,829 against after hours of talks at the FBU conference in Brighton.

The proposals are seen as an acceptable step because they are a move towards agreed, rather than imposed, change.

The decision still has to be voted upon by the membership.

FBU general secretary Andy Gilchrist said he could not rule out the possibility of further strikes if a deal was not hammered out.

He said: "It is obviously a possibility because that was a decision that was taken today but we would much rather, for the nation and for the fire service, have a negotiated settlement.

"The point we are making is that it is possible that the Burchill proposals may indeed be the resolution to this long running dispute."

Earlier, the conference had agreed that any possible strikes would not take place while the Iraq war continues.

Yesterday's decision means that the FBU could press ahead with talks with the national employers to try to break the deadlock.

They overwhelmingly rejected the latest offer from the national employers which was worth 16 per cent over three years but tied to changes in working practices.