The London Fire Authority is to hold an emergency meeting to discuss plans to close 12 fire stations with the loss of 520 jobs.
The authority had rejected the plans, aimed at saving £45m over two years.
Members narrowly decided to hold a public consultation on future plans, without involving the closures.
But London Mayor Boris Johnson took the unprecedented step of of directing it to move towards a consultation on cost-cutting measures.
Mr Johnson said London Fire Brigade crews attended half as many fires as a decade ago, while fire deaths were down by a third.
'Outrageous claims'He added that the authority had increased the likelihood of compulsory redundancies by not tackling a budget gap.
He said: "There have been some outrageous claims that the fire commissioner and I would put lives of Londoners at risk, so I have directed the plans to go for consultation as planned because the option presented by the authority is unfit for purpose and unsustainable in budget terms."
London fire commissioner Ron Dobson has proposed cutting around 10% of frontline firefighter posts, adding that he hoped to avoid compulsory redundancies.
'Hold their nerve'The number of fire stations would be reduced to 100 under the proposals.
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) called on members of the authority to "hold their nerve" and continue to oppose cuts.
Regional secretary Paul Embery said: "They were right to reject the cuts at their previous meeting and we think they should do so again.
"We do not believe they are under any legal obligation to comply with the Mayor's authoritarian demand."
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