CHESHIRE Fire and Rescue Service has told the Guardian it is confident it is prepared to handle the industrial action which will take place today, Wednesday.

Members of the Fire Brigades Union are set to strike for four hours between noon and 4pm.

A spokesperson for the service said: “It is important to highlight that the strikes being proposed relate to national issues rather than local ones, and that action will only be taken by those staff who are members of the Fire Brigade’s Union.

“We do have plans and procedures in place that will enable us to continue to protect the communities of Cheshire during the four-hour strike period.

“At this stage we expect to have at least 60 per cent of our usual emergency response capacity available during the four hours.

“Therefore, we expect to be able to respond to incidents as we normally would.

“However, as we do have less fire engines available we would encourage everyone to take extra care during the strike.

“Please make sure you have a working smoke alarm installed in your home, know exactly how to get out of your home if a fire was to break out and ensure that you take extra care while driving.

“We would also advise people and businesses to avoid doing anything that could increase the risk of a fire breaking out.”