The first 'yellow goddess' has been called out since the fire strike began in Northern Ireland.

More than 100 emergency calls were made within five hours of the strike starting, however most were hoaxes.

A minor fire broke out at Maysfield Leisure Centre in Belfast.

It turned out to be a minor incident caused by faulty machinery. The centre was evacuated for 45 minutes.

In Bangor, County Down, a callout of a yellow goddess turned out to be a hoax.

Firefighters in Belfast walked out at 1800 GMT

In Londonderry, the Army attended a car fire which was started by youths.

The car was one used for training by firefighters at Northland Road Fire Station.

Two of the goddesses also attended the scene of a fire in an unoccupied building on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast.

Acting Fire Chief Peter Craig said the public had to help prevent fires starting.

"Everybody understands that the contingency arrangements do not equate to the normal standards of fire cover," he said.

"The key issue here is that people can manage out the risk - they can stop that fire before it starts and the standard of fire cover shouldn't be an issue for people to worry about."

Pay claim

Earlier, concerns over the security forces' capacity to cover striking firefighters' duties were expressed by the Northern Ireland Office minister responsible for public safety.

Des Browne was speaking in Belfast a few hours ahead of the start of the 48 hour strike which started at 1800 GMT on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, in London, the Fire Brigades' Union met Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott on Wednesday afternoon.

It followed the collapse of negotiations with firefighters' national employers over the Fire Brigades Union's pay claim on Tuesday.

Mr Prescott is due to give a briefing later.

NIO minister Des Browne: "Army may be stretched"

On Wednesday morning Des Browne met with some of the army firefighters gearing up to step in to provide cover.

He said he was "particularly worried" about the security forces' ability to undertake rescue operations at serious road accidents and to tackle major fires.

He described the strike by the Fire Brigades' Union as "potentially damaging and dangerous and without justification".

The industrial action is the first national firefighters strike in 25 years.

Pay claim

The firefighters wanted a 40% pay rise but were offered 11% over two years.

In Northern Ireland, 1,800 firefighters walked out of stations.

About 500 military personnel trained in firefighting are to deal with all emergency calls during the strike.

They are equiped with 32 Northern Ireland 'yellow goddess' firefighting tenders which will stand in for about 130 modern appliances.

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

Temporary fire stations have been set up at police and Army bases. Six are in Belfast and most other cities and towns will also be covered.

The Retained Firefighters Union, which represents some part-time fire service employees, has said it will have 15 appliances in use and four specialist rescue vehicles with cutting equipment.

The union said its members would keep 11 stations open throughout the province. These will be mainly in rural areas.

Union spokesman Jim Campbell said the stoppage was putting lives at risk.

Major incident cover

The strike is to last for 48 hours but firefighters in the province have left open the possibility that they will respond to any major incident during that period.

The fire service is urging people to take extra care to prevent fires starting..

Acting Chief Fire Officer Peter Craig: "Prevent fires before they happen"

Acting Chief Fire Officer Peter Craig said: "The key issue is to ensure that you don't have a fire, so that the standard of fire coverage doesn't matter to you.

"So I am saying to people: Stop that fire before it happens."

Kenny McMahon from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said contingency plans have been put into action.

"We have extra resources in place and an extra crew will be in the area for the 48 hour period.

"There will also be an extra ambulance officer on call," said Mr McMahon.

"But I must say, it is a pity it has come to this and we will certainly miss our colleagues who are a very professional and well trained bunch of people."

Student leaders urged all students to purchase a smoke detector and ensure extra precautions were taken.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Northern Ireland Coastguard has said the marine firefighting team which usually covers Northern Ireland waters from Holyhead in Wales is also to strike.

However, the coastguard said their services were rarely needed.

Fire dispute at a glance
	Pay	Bain Review	Working Practices
Fire Brigades Union	Firefighters are calling for a 40% rise	FBU leader: "He has effectively wrecked the pay talks."	FBU leader: "Modernising the service should not be an excuse to undermine the union."
Employers	The employers have offered them an interim 4% rise	They have warmly welcomed the Bain report endorsing its "vision" of the future	"Any increase above 4% would have to be linked to modernisation and supported financially by the government."
Bain Review	Recommends a 4% rise in 2002 followed by 7% in 2003	"I think in the longer term it provides the only basis on which any kind of rational and equitable deal can be done."	Calls for reform and end to overtime ban and for more flexible working practices in return for a raise
Fire Service Minister	"We made it clear that if they [the employers] went beyond 4% they would have to fund that."	"I believe most fair-minded people would regard it as a good basis for the future terms of the fire service."	"Investment in public services must go hand in hand with improvement and modernisation."