IT is not my intention in any way to comment on the merits or otherwise of the present firefighters dispute, other than to point out that ultimately we, the Council Tax-payer, have to foot the bill. Not the government or the employers.

It was my understanding that, when many fire services were formed at the turn of the 19th Century, their services were paid for by insurance companies on a loss/saving basis. On that basis, should a business with a building plus stock valued at £1m be subject to a fire and the brigade save 50 per cent of those assets, a substantial percentage of that saving to the insurers would be paid to the brigade.

Should this be the case nowadays, surely any funding of whatever pay rise the firemen achieve would be paid for by insurers, and not Council Tax-payers who pay in advance?

On a more grammatical point, why do both firemen and the media refer to fireman as 'professionals', when they are clearly not.

Undoubtedly they carry out their jobs in a technically proficient and dedicated manner, but it was always my understanding that to be deemed a 'professional' required a minimum qualification of a relevant degree or at one time Phd?

Terry Ford, Clerkenwell Crescent, Malvern.