THE south is bracing itself as hundreds of firefighters prepare to walk out tonight in a 48-hour strike over pay.

A total of 15 full-time stations across the county, including all those in Southampton, Eastleigh, Winchester, Fareham and Newport on the Isle of Wight, will close at 6pm and picket lines will be formed outside.

Fire Brigades Union bosses are warning the public to take extra care as they say the county's emergency replacement service won't be able to cope.

Wayne Parsons, FBU pay co-ordinator for Hampshire, told the Daily Echo: "There is only one fire service in the UK. When that is on strike, any other service is not equipped, not trained and not able to cope with the calls that could be put upon them. If there was an alternative fire service we would not be in this position.

"People should be extra vigilant. The risk to public safety will be increased. This strike is not what we want but equally, we cannot go on the way we are."

However, Hampshire fire chiefs say they have taken every measure possible to ensure the safety of the public.

A spokesman said: "Our concern is for the people of Hampshire and we will be attempting to provide the best service that we can. People must, in an emergency, dial 999. Calls will be going through to a different control room at police headquarters but they will all be responded to. We will be operating slightly differently but doing everything we can in what we are treating as an emergency situation."

The industrial action was announced yesterday after the latest round of pay talks with employers broke down.

Firefighters are battling to get their salaries increased from £21,000 to £30,000 - an increase of 40 per cent.

An emergency plan is now under way in the county.

Royal Navy-manned Green Goddesses, equipped with only the basics, will be on standby at 11 temporary fire stations that have been set up. They are being co-ordinated from an Army base at Aldershot.

Police chiefs won't reveal the locations of the sites in fear of protests.

This is just part of a contingency plan devised by police, military and non-striking fire chiefs who have also set up a temporary control room to take 999 fire calls.

It will be stationed at police headquarters in Netley, next to the police control room, and from there vehicles will be deployed.

The Green Goddesses, which don't have radios, will be alerted via radio link to police, who have been drafted in to escort the vintage vehicles around the county.

Thirty-five traffic officers will be on duty throughout the 48-hours, using motorcycles and patrol cars with sirens to battle through traffic.

Deputy Prime Minster John Prescott has stopped officials from revealing exactly how many of the Green Goddesses are on standby in Hampshire and any details about how the military plans to cope with the situation.

Many retained firefighters have chosen not to support the strike action. They will be on full alert at the county's remaining 37 stations.

The scenes expected tonight have not been witnessed in Britain for a quarter of a century, since the last firefighters' strike in 1977 - dubbed "the winter of discontent".

Union bosses say the strike action will break the hearts of firefighters, who are committed to saving lives and putting out fires.

But they also say that if an incident was to break out yards from a picket line, it's almost certain that firefighters would run to the rescue.

Mr Parsons, who is a firefighter based at Eastleigh station, said: "You try stopping a firefighter from doing his job. It's in their nature to help anyone in need.

"Taking strike action is the most heart-wrenching thing we have ever considered. I am speaking as a firefighter and not a union official. Walking out of my station at 6pm will break me. This is something that firefighters would not be prepared to do under normal circumstances, but these are not normal circumstances.

"There is bitter disappointment and anger about the offer of an 11 per cent rise. At first there was just frustration and some hope that a middle ground could be reached. We are being treated very badly by the people who praise us for going the extra mile in a service that, they say, is beyond compare."

Now it seems the only middle ground is the message both sides are sending out to the public - to stay safe, be vigilant and call 999.

Meanwhile, one station on the Isle of Wight will be closing for the strike - Newport, the only one that is fully manned.

The rest of the Island's fire stations will be operating as normal.

A spokesman for the Isle of Wight Council said: "We have got two Green Goddesses and a breathing apparatus team based at the Army Drill Hall in Newport and manned by the Royal Navy, who will be covering."

Richard Hards, the Chief Fire Officer on the Island, predicted that some part time firefighters will also join the picket.

He said: "Some part-time firefighters will be striking but until six o'clock tomorrow you just don't know.

"I anticipate we'll have three-quarters of the Island's fire stations operating as usual."