Firefighters in the West Midlands are to be balloted over strike action after union leaders claimed talks with management over new shift patterns broke down.
Tony Nutting, secretary of the Fire Brigade Union, also accused management of refusing to pay travel expenses to firefighters.
The union representative said that under new working arrangements firefighters could be told at short notice that their next shift is at a fire station on the other side of the county to where they live.
A spokeswoman from West Midlands Fire Service denied that talks had broken down.
But Mr Nutting said the service had reneged on its promise to solve a range of issues, which also include changes to hours and annual leave.
He said: "I think the service is being unreasonable in that managers are point blank refusing some of our key requests.
"Firefighters are told at a moments notice that we are working miles away from where we live. The fire brigade are refusing to pay travel expenses even for men who have to carry out a 100 mile round trip from Wolverhampton to Coventry.
"We are also concerned that we are not getting any allowances for us working until 12am, which leaves us very little time to spend with our families."
Mr Nutting, referring to a huge fire in Tipton, Sandwell, last week, said the shift patterns were putting the lives of the public at risk.
"The officer in charge of the Tipton fire asked for relief from ten engines, but was given only five," he added.
A spokeswoman from West Midlands Fire Service said: "As far as we are concerned, the negotiations are ongoing."
The row was developing as the Government was criticised following Fire Services Minister Jim Fitzpatrick's announcement that the location for the centre was South-east England.
The locations of the remaining centres, which include Wolverhampton in the Midlands, have already been announced.
