TODAY is crunch time as union leaders will hear whether fire chiefs have shelved controversial proposals for a service shake-up.

The Fire Brigades Union gave bosses at Essex County Fire and Rescue Service until today to abandon plans to make changes to various aspects of the brigade, from the way specialist appliances were crewed, to how to alter the service to deal with changing threats.

The union calls the changes “cuts”, claiming they will force firefighters out of work and put lives of employees and the public at risk.

Chief fire officer David Johnson has always vehemently denied this, but union leaders called for him to shelve the plans or they would ballot members over whether to strike.

Mr Johnson said: “We don’t think it is right and proper to hold a sword over our heads and threaten strike action. I’ve been out to quite a few fire stations, and I don’t get the same view from firefighters that I’m getting from union officials.

“This is almost a throw-back to the 1980s Scargill era.”

He continued: “Seventy five per cent of brigades already do what we are suggesting, and the unions agreed to it. What makes Essex so different? The difference is the union has a reputation to uphold – a reputation for being militant hard men. They need to grow up and get over it.”

Paul Adams, brigade secretary for the Essex Fire Brigades Union, said: “Today is the deadline the union set for our request for reassurances. The Fire Brigades Union committee, which is the governing body, will meet on Friday to consider their response and will then decide whether to go to ballot.

“That is a huge step for our members to take at any time, particularly given the circumstances we are surrounded by economically. The decision to take industrial action has to go through a full consultation process within the union, but we have an eye on the future of the fire service in Essex, and it’s somewhat of a short-term pain for a long-term gain.”

When asked why the changes had been accepted by other brigade unions, Mr Adams said that did not matter.

He explained: “When the chief fire officer came into the brigade some years ago, in the discussion with the union of the time, he said he wanted the fire service in Essex to be the best in the country, and we supported that.

“The Fire Brigades Union in Essex wants the best fire brigade for the people.”