LONDON -- Thousands of troops fanned out across the country, manning ancient army fire trucks known as Green Goddesses. In Manchester, soldiers struggled with a spectacular blaze at a fireworks warehouse. And all across Britain, there was horror and anger at the deaths of three elderly people Wednesday night in fires that went unattended during the first round of a bitter firefighters strike.

What started as a 48-hour walkout is turning out to be the most serious labour strife to hit the country in years.

In scenes reminiscent of confrontations between labour unions and prime minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, angry firefighters mounted picket lines in front of fire stations across the country yesterday, vowing to press their demands for a 40-per-cent wage increase.

Prime Minister Tony Blair was equally adamant, saying "no government on Earth" could ever accede to the firefighters' demands.

"If we said yes to 40 per cent for firefighters, how could we or any government say no to a 40-per-cent claim for teachers, or nurses or police officers?" he said.

As soldiers responded to hundreds of calls, many of them false alarms, they trundled to emergencies in the Green Goddesses, which date from the 1940s and have a maximum speed of 50 kilometres an hour. The trucks have no modern equipment, carry ladders that have difficulty getting above a second-floor window and have a tendency to tip over if driven too quickly around bends.

In the West Midlands, one of the elderly victims died in an apartment fire at Halesowen, just down the road from a strikebound fire station. The soldiers responsible for replacement fire protection reportedly took 20 minutes to arrive.

The 18,500 troops were aided occasionally by striking firefighters who left their picket lines if they felt lives were at risk. At the Manchester fireworks warehouse, the strikers briefly helped the soldiers save a man inside the building and then pulled out, saying that only "bricks and mortar" were at risk. The soldiers eventually brought the fire under control.

The firefighters have rejected out of hand the government's offer of an 11-per-cent rise over two years as "derisory," insisting that they deserve an annual salary of £30,000 pounds (about $75,000) because of the danger of their job.

In London, the strike caused chaos on the subway system as dozens of stations were closed and train drivers refused to work on deep underground transit lines, saying it was unsafe to do so without proper fire coverage. The strike also added to the misery of residents in regions hit by flash floods, where firefighters are usually called in to pump out excess water.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott pledged to do everything possible to protect the public and said troops could be ordered to cross picket lines at fire stations and seize control of the modern red fire engines made idle by the work stoppage.

The government has been reluctant to make the move, fearing it would exacerbate relations with the Fire Brigades Union and its militant president, Andy Gilchrist, who insisted yesterday the strike was "100-per-cent solid."

Mr. Prescott called the strike "wrong and unjustified" and said it was time the union returned to the negotiating table.

The firefighters are due to end their first 48-hour strike at 6 p.m. today. The union has vowed it will conduct three eight-day strikes, beginning next Friday, if progress is not made in contract talks.

The troops, who have received limited training in firefighting, found their jobs complicated by a spate of false alarms. In some regions of the country, up to 40 per cent of the calls turned out to be hoaxes.

Strikers have provided assistance in the case of several traffic accidents, where they helped free accident victims trapped in damaged vehicles.

Volunteer firefighters in rural areas also stayed on the job, saying they won't join the strike.

So far, the public appears equally divided between those who see firefighters as heroes, in the mould of the New York Fire Department after last year's Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and those who sense they are trying to hold society to ransom.

The government has been reluctant to accede to the union's demands for fear of breaking its budget. Officials have also suggested the current salaries can't be that bad because there is huge list of applicants for firefighting jobs, while a chronic shortage exists for nurses and teachers.