LONDON (AP) -- With Britain braced for war with Iraq, British firefighters on Tuesday canceled a planned strike that would have forced thousands of soldiers to replace them.
The union's 55,000 members, who first demanded a 40 percent raise, have staged five strikes since last year. Their places were taken by soldiers using outmoded equipment.
Britain has ordered 40,000 troops to the Persian Gulf, and some fear a strike now could stretch the armed forces beyond their breaking point.
Local authorities have not increased the 16-percent pay offer but they have ``loosened'' some of the reforms attached to the deal, the union said Thursday night. It had argued earlier that the reforms could lead to job losses.
The union executive voted to call off the 24-hour strike and recommend acceptance of the deal.
A spokesman for Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott called the cancellation ``very encouraging.''
