London Underground says services on some tube lines are being badly disrupted as a result of the strike.

Transport for London said 22 of the tube's deepest level stations will find them closed, for safety reasons due to there being no fire cover for the lift service.

In addition, only 10 out of 64 trains are running on the Piccadilly Line.

The Waterloo & City Line is closed with none of the four shuttle trains in service. There are also two out of 72 Northern Line trains not in operation.

Our view is that the safest thing to do is to close the system for the duration of any fire strikes

RMT Union

London Underground says some drivers have either not turned up for work or have refused to drive on safety grounds. Worst affected by this are the Hammersmith & City line and the Circle line.

Managers will spend the day talking to drivers about their concerns, in a bid to allay their concerns.

RMT rail union, which represents some drivers, says that if any of its members are victimised, it will ballot for strike action.

The stations closed on strike days are: Belsize Park, Borough, Caledonian Road, Chalk Farm, Covent Garden, Edgware Road (Bakerloo Line), Elephant & Castle, Gloucester Road (District and Circle lines running normally), Goodge Street, Hampstead, Holland Park, Holloway Road, Kennington, Lambeth North, Lancaster Gate, Mornington Crescent, Queensway, Regent's Park, Russell Square, Shadwell (closed morning and evening rush hours) Tufnell Park and Wapping.

Mainline stations and services have so far not been affected by the firefighters' industrial action.

Talks have been held between Railtrack, the Association of Train Operating Companies (Atoc), the Health and Safety Executive and Railway Safety - the industry advisory agency.

No changes to normal timetables were considered necessary.

But the RMT union said its members could still take action if safety is at risk.

Atoc says it is aware of only one train driver who has refused to work on safety grounds.

The Channel Tunnel will remain open and operate a full service, operator Eurotunnel says.

It is confident forward planning will mean it does not have to stop passenger, vehicle or freight services or reduce their frequency.

Train services through the Channel Tunnel should be unaffected

Normally fire cover is provided by both French and British firefighters.

There was no truth in reports that French firefighters were refusing to cover for their striking British counterparts, a spokesman said.

Airports should also be able to offer a full service.

BAA, which operates major UK airports including Heathrow and Gatwick, has its own fire crews to deal with emergencies, but local fire brigades are called in to help out if necessary.

The BAA firefighters are not members of the FBU and will be working as normal on strike days, although numbers will be increased at all airports if their counterparts are striking.

Extra patrols to spot problems before they develop will also be in place.

A series of strikes planned by airport firefighters are not connected to the FBU action.

The Chemical Industries Association says some chemical production companies are reducing stocks of flammable goods and all are ensuring staff are freshly briefed on emergency procedures.

The association has also warned the Ministry of Defence it is imperative that armed forces' personnel operating Green Goddesses are trained in dealing with chemical spills on the roads in the event of an accident.

Schools are being advised to open as normal, by the Department for Education and Skills.

Those establishments with a history of arson attacks have been told to consider hiring night watch security staff.

Teachers and other school employees are being urged to be extra vigilant and a letter containing a list of safety tips has been circulated to all chief education officers.

Football fans should also have little to worry about for the moment.

All clubs have permanent safety certificates issued by local authorities so matches can take place.

In the event of changed circumstances - such as a fire strike - a new one has to be obtained.

The Premier League thinks all its 20 clubs should be able to comply with the requirements for a fresh certificate.

A spokesman said: "None of our clubs have indicated that they expect to experience any problems due to the proposed firefighters strike and we expect a full fixture programme to go ahead."

That view is echoed by the Football League, which has 72 clubs in divisions one, two and three.

"We are pretty confident that all our games will be able to go ahead, although it always depends on local conditions and the nature of any strike action," a spokesman said.

Horseracing is in a similar situation.

Punters should contact any of the 59 courses ahead of fixtures to check they are still going ahead.

Each course has a safety certificate, but each is tailored to the course's specifications, so responses to a strike may differ.

Courses will plan responses in liaison with local health and safety departments.

However, according to the Racecourse Association, most courses are confident that once contingency plans are in place it will not be necessary to cancel any races.

Managing Director at Aintree racecourse, Charles Barnett, said he was not expecting the strike to cause problems for race meets.

"Like any other venue, I don't think it affects us providing there is emergency cover," he told BBC News Online.