Two elderly people have died in house fires in England on the first night of the firefighters strike.

In the first incident, army Green Goddesses were called to a house in Briercliffe, Lancashire, at 2220 GMT on Wednesday.

An 83-year-old man, who has not been named, was rescued but died en route to Burnley General Hospital.

In the West Midlands, Green Goddesses were called out to flat fire in Halesowen just after 0100 GMT on Thursday.

Hoax calls

A 70-year-old man was rescued from his third floor flat and taken to Russell's Hall Hospital in Dudley but later died.

The cause of the fire is believed to have been electrical.

Thousands of armed forces personnel throughout the country spent the night attending emergency call-outs, with some areas hampered by streams of hoax calls and minor arson attacks.

The 48-hour industrial action began when firefighters, demanding a 40% pay rise, walked out at 1800 GMT on Wednesday.

As the strike enters its second day, local authority employers will be meeting to discuss how to break the deadlock.

The Fire Brigades Union has already rejected as "derisory" an offer of 11% over two years combined with modernisation, but insists it wants a settlement.

Tube closure

Firefighters in Oxfordshire crossed the picket line on Thursday morning to help rescue a man trapped in a kitchen fire.

Strike dates

13-15 November Starts and ends at 1800 GMT 22-30 November Starts/ ends 0900 4-12 December Starts/ ends 0900 16-24 December Starts/ ends 0900

The crew from Wallingford Fire Station responded to a call from the military who were first on the scene to a house fire.

The man, believed to have collapsed after being overcome by fumes, was treated at the scene by an ambulance crew.

At Teesside Airport, one of its own fire engines was first on the scene of a road accident outside in which one person died.

Paramedics and an ambulance crew treated four people who were injured, two seriously.

Negotiations

In London, some tube stations closed and a "handful" of drivers refused to drive trains, apparently because of safety fears.

General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, Andy Gilchrist, has accused the Bain review - commissioned by the government - of scuppering the talks with local authority employers.

He said the firefighters' pay claims were neither "unrealistic" nor "unreasonable" and they were not prepared to risk their lives for "�6 an hour."

If agreement cannot be reached three other eight-day strikes are planned before Christmas.