SIPTU says "the silence from Government" has forced firefighters to escalate their strike.
On-call members of the fire service first started industrial action on June 6th in a dispute over the low level of pay and restrictive conditions of the job.
In an escalation of that strike, all retained fire stations will "go dark" from 8 o'clock this Saturday morning - meaning crews will have no internal communications with local authority radio call centres.
SIPTU members have also vowed to close one station in each county every week, if a resolution is not found by Saturday 19th August.
Tom Kitterick from Westport Fire Station and chair of SIPTU's National Negotiating Committee says the gravity of the issue cannot be understated.
"The Government's own survey showed that 60% of fire fighters were about to walk in the retained service.
"That signals a collapse, and that's where it will go, it's heading for collapse.
"Really in a way, this dispute is about saving the service, rather than correcting terms and conditions."
