A team of senior fire officers known as "chaperones" will be used to tackle front-line incidents in the event of crews going on strike in Greater Manchester. They will be joined by "stand-in" firefighters recruited partly in case of industrial action.
The Manchester Evening News understands that 19 high-ranking officers will be put on operational duty. Crews made up of Emergency Fire Cover staff will join them in manning fire engines.
In 2014, about 100 stand-in firefighters manned 21 fire engines in the region during strike days in a long-running dispute over pensions, with similar contingency measures now being drawn up in the event of strikes this year.
