Sorry Trumpton, you will be on a hiding to nothing here. We are all aware that Fire is nasty, as is Chemicals, Fuel, Falling Buildings and the Myriad of other things you have to deal with. Our point is, your union let you down as did all those members who supported strike action and I include 1977 and all the other little strikes since. You guys signed on to do a (heroic in some cases) job and then stood back and let a bunch of militant, "look at me, I can bring the country to a halt" ferkwits in charge of your union bring you and your genuine collegues down to the level of scum. They knew full well that the military would be called upon to cover you job, and whilst I agree we are not experts, the basic training was enough for us to keep on top of things. Over the years I and my collegues have been binmen, ambulance drivers, picked up the remains at Lockerbie and covered a few conflicts here and there. All we try to point out is, why did you join the FB, the money?, the shifts?, the calender work?, or was it to make a difference and save lives? You and your workmates need to sort your priorities. By the way 28 years so far, FB 1st strike action, 1977, that was me in the back of the Goddess!