The strike kicked off at 0700 GMT, with thousands of members of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) due to hold a rally in Westminster later in the day.
Earlier, the FBU described changes to pensions and the retirement age as "unworkable".
"Firefighters are justifiably angry with how this government is treating them. MPs, the public and firefighters were completely misled and given a false guarantee in order to pass the legislation. This is wrong," FBU general secretary Matt Wrack said.
A Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman, for his part, dismissed the strike as "unnecessary", saying that contingency plans were in place to handle emergencies.
The FBU pointed the finger at Fire Minister Penny Mordaunt for misleading Parliament regarding firefighters' pensions.
She reportedly said that if firefighters become unfit through no fault of their own, they should get another role or a full, unreduced pension.
The FBU claimed that fire authorities across England had failed to support the minister's promise.
According to the FBU, England's firefighters have been on strike more than 50 times since September 2013. The last strike over a pension dispute took place in December 2014.
