A GREEN Goddess fire-engine was called into action in Newport last night as the 48-hour firefighters' strike continued.

The 50-year-old vehicle, manned by six RAF personnel, took just over ten minutes to travel from Raglan Barracks, Newport, with a police escort, to fight a car fire in Tredegar Park at about 9pm.

The crews fought for just over half an hour to control the blaze in a Vauxhall Cavalier, believed to have been stolen and torched.

RAF Sergeant Robert Pierce, who led the firefighting team, said: "This is our second operation so far during the strike.

"We were at another car fire in Rogerstone on Wednesday night.

"I'm an electrical engineer usually, but the intensive fire training we have been receiving since August is really paying off."

Senior aircraftsman Daniel Williams added: "Although it has been fairly quiet we are coping really well.

"Rushing to a fire scene really does make you feel nervous and the adrenaline is pumping."

The only other incident occurred at 2am, when a Green Goddess was called to a bin fire at St Dials, in Cwmbran.

A spokesman for the military said: "The crew attended the fire because the bins were near shops and could have been a risk to them. The fire was quickly put out."

But there was also a hoax call when a Green Goddess crew and breathing apparatus rescue team attended a reported kitchen fire in Markham at 7.06pm, only to find the report was false.

Home Office Minister Lord Falconer last night confirmed the government was prepared to order troops to cross picket lines to use the red fire-engines if the Fire Brigades Union moved to eight-day strikes next week.

But the officer in charge of providing fire cover in Wales during the strike will not send his men across picket lines.

Brigadier Robert Aitken said: "I am not prepared to send my troops across picket lines. We will use the best kit available to us, and if we are given better kit by democratic means, then we we will use it, but I am not going to confront firefighters."

Meanwhile, hundreds of firefighters were due to attend a rally in Newport this afternoon, to hear a speech from FBU general secretary Andy Gilchrist.

He has been on a whistle-stop tour of the country before this stage of the strike ends at 6pm today, and was to speak at Newport Centre.

* Pictured: Military firefighters tackle the car fire