"We simply do not have sufficient buckets to cope with a major fire" said a union spokesman amid fears that only properties close to the sea or a river could be saved in the event of a fire.
Fears were sparked after 2 days of unseasonably "warmish" weather had drained both of the UK's reservoirs to critical levels and Thames Water announced a hosepipe ban. Arnold Snodgrass, a spokesperson for Thames water said "After 2 days of warm weather, we need at least 16 weeks of continual downpour to replenish our water supplies to a level that will even cope with the leaks in the pipes, let alone allow us to even consider allowing hosepipes to be used". Speaking on a Radio 4 interview, he explained that "this is the warmest period we have had in almost a week and, as you can imagine, the water usage in our area has increased dramatically as people have been drinking it and watering the garden - this could not have come at worse time for us". He explained that their reservoir, situated near Reading, only held sufficient supplies to last another 2 days at the current levels of usage.
Under new EU regulations, brought in last December, emergency services must now be treated like any other consumer (unless they can prove they are disabled or on benefits) and are subject to the same restrictions as the normal "man in the street".
Claude Van-Warmer of the EU explained "this is part of the new equality regulations brought in to protect the vulnerable in our society and, if we make an exception for one, we would simply open the floodgates for everyone - so the fire service, along with everyone else must be made to understand that equality means just that - with no exceptions".
The bucket manufacturing "Eurobuckets", partially owned by Mr Van-Warmer, has seen a massive surge in profits since this new law was introduced.
Martin Baker, spokesman for the fire service Union "Extinguish", said, "We have lost over 400 inland properties in the last week, despite our best efforts and can only now concentrate on homes close to the sea or a major river. Because we have to fill our engines by bucket, our response time has fallen from an average 4 minutes to just under 27 hours - and we find this unacceptable".
No-one from Eurobucket was available for comment - as they were all on holiday.
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Hosepipe Ban opposed by Fireman's Union
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