IT has been 25 years since our firefighters felt they had to go on strike. Those of us who remember their great moral dilemma from 1977 - to stop work and risk putting the public in danger or to settle for a paltry wage rise - will have seen the same issues debated in the past few weeks.

Every firefighter knows only too well the risks involved in withdrawing their labour from an emergency service. But union members are absolutely determined to end the tradition of low pay in the service.

The outcome of the vote was predictable - in favour of industrial action - but not the size of the majority.

The voting, by almost 9-1 in favour of industrial action, was, as the Fire Brigade Union says, phenomenal and show-ed the strength of feeling across the country.

So what happens now? The Government's desperate bid to head off industrial action by setting up a pay review is dead in the water, and it should back off and let the employers and the union reach a settlement.

Union members believe Ministers were preventing local authorities from holding negotiations with the union.

If that's the case, a settlement is achievable. The firefighters will be willing to agree a reasonable deal - after all, though a 40 per cent claim is headline grabbing, it's an opening gambit in negotiations.

At heart, they are dedicated professionals who don't want to strike but have been driven to it. It's time to offer them a decent deal.