A fireman told me that there are plans to recruit members of the public to cover any strike, at the rate of £150 per day per recruit. A few days training running out hoses and climbing ladders........
That sounds in line with the requirements of the Civil Contingencies Act 2004 and the preparation for several local Op FRESCOs post ZULU. However, the local authority fire and rescue services took some convincing about the need to have a workable plan that did not include calling on MOD support.
Also, in my experience the MOD and particularly the Standing Joint Commander (UK) liked to be 'forward leaning', meaning our plan was usually better and could be implemented more quickly (unions have to give a week's notice of strike), so MOD support was still generated.
I'm sure there are plenty of recently discarded military personnel out there willing and able to be firemen.
Batco