A senior Scottish fire officer has warned that government moves to settle the firefighters' pay dispute could lead to "dangerous" job cuts.

Geoff Williams, the deputy firemaster for Central Scotland, has questioned whether the Bain inquiry should be the basis for changing work practices.

He has also expressed concern that the inquiry could be politically motivated and result in a poorer fire service.

If jobs were to go it would be dangerous at this moment in time

Geoff Williams Deputy firemaster

The government-sponsored inquiry into the fire service, headed by Sir George Bain, is due to report around 16 December.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has already suggested that job losses are a likely part of any deal to solve the dispute.

Two strikes have already been held, but a third was suspended while talks are held with conciliation service Acas.

Mr Williams told BBC Radio Scotland that he was not alone in thinking that Bain was unable to carry out a fundamental rethink of working practices.

He argued that no decision should be taken on job cuts until the long-running Pathfinder review of fire service efficiency has been completed.

Fire cover

And he said there were fears that this study may be ignored by Bain.

"If jobs were to go it would be dangerous at this moment in time because we are still awaiting the outcome of the Pathfinder review," he said.

"It was specifically established to tell us exactly what fire cover and special services are required."

He said there were fears about any job cuts which may be recommended by Bain.

Firefighters have staged two strikes

"We are concerned that it might be politically motivated to ensure that the firefighters get a salary, but at the cost of reducing the excellent fire service that we have," said Mr Williams.

"The saddest part of this is that at the end of it (the dispute) we may have a poorer fire service, and that could undo all the good work that the Scottish Executive have done."

However, the Fire Protection Association has dismissed criticism of the Bain inquiry.

Managing director Jonathan O'Neill said he hoped it would be a catalyst for change.

He said there had been criticism of the number of reports and recommendations about the fire service which had been made.

"In many ways I think Bain will fast-track an awful lot of the reports," he said.

The Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers Association is meeting on Friday to discuss its position on the dispute and the Bain report.