Rumbles of discontent in our emergency services could erupt into a full scale crisis unless swift action is taken.

The most imminent threat is to the fire service. Firefighters voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action at their meeting in Bridlington.

That decision invokes images of the last national fire brigade strike, when the Army's 'green goddess' engines were brought out to deal with civilian emergencies. More than 20 years have passed since then, but the widespread alarm it caused has stayed fresh in the public mind.

If we needed a reminder of the vital work of firefighters, it comes in our reports tonight of their efforts to tackle a house fire in Thixendale and a chemical blaze in Driffield.

It is possible to understand both the union and the employer's position in this dispute.

Firefighters have seen their service endure cut after cut in recent years. Unions believe employers' proposals, which include greater local bargaining, threaten working conditions and compromise safety standards.

For their part, local authority representatives are under huge pressure from national government to make efficiency savings in the fire brigade. They require more flexibility to do that. They say talk of a strike is a complete over-reaction, when their plans do not threaten pay and leave much of the national agreement unchanged. Meanwhile, concerns about the level of police cover in North Yorkshire intensify. Today, the county Police

Federation has voiced its fear about force recruitment.

This comes only days after York police chief Superintendent Jim Kilmartin announced his sudden retirement, citing serious reservations about the police staffing levels in the city. Both York MP Hugh Bayley and his Ryedale counterpart John Greenway have added their own concerns. The Labour member blames the organisation of the force; the Conservative says Government funding is to blame.

If these problems were not bad enough, the nurse staffing crisis has become so acute that hospitals have launched a recruitment drive in York and Selby supermarkets.

We take the emergency services for granted. That is how it should be. The public need to be secure in the knowledge that in the event of a crisis, there will be firefighters, police and nurses on hand to help.

Ensuring these services are in place is one of the most fundamental roles of government.

It is no good ministers blaming local authorities for the problem. Much of the discontent can be laid at their door. If the Government wants to avoid a summer of discontent, it should step in to help defuse the tensions within our emergency services.

see NEWS 'Police are 'stretched to breaking point''

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