THE Army will only be able to deploy a handful of fire tenders to cover vast swathes of the North-East and North Yorkshire in the event of a national strike, The Northern Echo can reveal.

A ballot of more than 50,000 members of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) is today expected to show a huge vote in favour of industrial action in support of a near 40 per cent pay rise to take salaries to £30,000.

Union leaders will meet ahead of the ballot result to finalise plans for walkouts in the coming weeks.

Contingency plans drawn up by the Ministry of Defence reveal a make-shift force that will be stretched to the limit.

In County Durham - a predominantly rural area peppered with remote villages - only ten 1950s style Army Green Goddess fire engines will be available.

This compares with 27 fully-equipped tenders used by the regular fire service.

The Green Goddesses will be backed by four basic rescue tenders with breathing apparatus and basic "extrication" equipment used to free trapped persons in emergencies.

But in line with other brigades, vital specialist equipment such as aerial ladder platforms will not be available to a makeshift force made up from the armed forces.

Response times, too, will be much slower because the Green Goddesses have a top speed of only 35 mph.

Although Army outriders have been trained to stop traffic to help the tenders get through heavy traffic, officials privately admit there will be problems in meeting targets laid down for modern engines capable of almost 70mph.

One of the region's leading fire chiefs last night expressed his concern.

Durham chief fire officer George Herbert said the county would be left with a "last resort" basic fire service.

Fears over cover come as the region's fire services gear up for Bonfire Night - the busiest period of the year - which the FBU could yet target.

Last night, Mr Herbert said: "All four fire brigades in the region are planning for the worst case scenario.

"There should be no doubt that we will have very much a last resort, basic fire brigade."

Mr Herbert said an operations centre was being set up at Durham Police headquarters with calls to the fire service being routed via police operators.

In North Yorkshire, the picture is even worse.

Fire chiefs said that cover would be only 20 per cent of that normally available.

Deputy chief fire officer Nigel Hutchinson said nine Green Goddesses would replace 45 regular fire tenders with limited specialist equipment available. He said: "It is a very serious situation we have and there is no doubt the public will be at greater risk."

Spokesman Terry Glover added: "Our big concern is that with more road traffic accidents per head of population than any other county, cutting gear in particular is going to be severely limited."

Alan Holmes, deputy chief fire officer with the Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, said: "We already have very well advanced contingency plans. But we are very concerned about the safety of the community."

Following agreement between the Fire Brigades Union and fire authorities, briefings have been given to employers asking them to review fire safety arrangements in case of a strike.

BASF and the ICI Wilton plant on Teesside have been targeted for advice by Cleveland fire service.

A spokeswoman said it would be releasing details on the expected level of fire cover after talks with the MoD and the police.

Steve Gregg, FBU regional chairman, said: "The Army could have ten times as many people as us and they still could not do the same job. Resources will be limited to calls where lives are at risk. Run-of-the-mill fires will be left to burn."

Last night, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott made a last minute plea for the FBU to postpone calling strikes and wait for a review of the service, which will report in December.