Fire services in Scotland
Fire services in Scotland are provided by Fire and Rescue Services each under the control of a Fire and Rescue Authority (in Fife and in Dumfries and Galloway) or a joint fire board (elsewhere).
The board or authority exercises local control of each fire and rescue service on behalf of the council or group of councils within each service's area and from whom the members are drawn. Since the establishment of a devolved Scottish government in 1999, national control is the responsibility of the Cabinet Secretary for Justice in the Scottish Government[1], having previously lain with the Secretary of State for Scotland (the relevant "Secretary of State" referred to in legislation applicable to Scotland) since the 19th century.
Fire Services have undergone dramatic changes in recent years, due to both a change to operational procedures in the light of terrorism attacks and threats, and also in response to the 2002 publication of a review of the fire services in the United Kingdom by Professor Sir George Bain. His terms of reference were described as follows: "Having regard to the changing and developing role of the Fire Service in the United Kingdom, to inquire into and make recommendations on the future organisation and management of the Fire Service..."[2] In the foreword to the review, Bain stated that it was carried out independently and objectively: "...the Review was put together with the co-operation of the Government, the employers' organisations and fire authorities in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland."[3]
Legislative history of fire services
- 1824: Establishment of municipal fire service in Edinburgh[4], the first public fire brigade in the UK[5]
- 1885: Creation of Scottish Office transferring administrative (but not legislative) responsibility to Secretary of State for Scotland.
- 1938: Fire Services Act 1938 combined the functions of 185 fire brigades and imposed fire-fighting duties upon local authorities,[6]
- 1941: Fire brigades transferred to National Fire Service (NFS) to form No.11 Region[7]].
- 1947: Fire Services Act 1947 returned fire brigades in Scotland to local authority control[8], mostly via joint boards. 11 brigades were created[9] resembling somewhat the NFS areas. Section 36 of the Act dealt with its application to Scotland. Parts of the Act remain in force in Scotland.
- 1959: Parts of the UK Fire Services Act 1959 remain in force in Scotland.
- 1975: Fire Service Areas re-arranged from 1947 arrangements to match one or more areas of new local government Regions.
- 1996: Fire Service Area boards mostly recreated as joint boards consequent to local government re-organisation which abolished Regions and made new Council Areas responsible for fire services.
- 1999: Scottish Parliament restored and responsibility for Fire Services transferred from Secretary of State for Scotland to the Scottish Government
- 2005: The Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 became the main primary legislation controlling the provision and maintenance of fire-fighting and fire-prevention services, replacing most of the remaining sections of the 1947 and 1959 Acts which dealt with such matters in Scotland.
Scottish brigades
The Scottish brigades are still broadly based on the system of local government regions in use from 1975 to 1996.
The Fire and Rescue Services are the workforces employed by the Fire and Rescue Authorities and Joint Boards.
| Brigade |
Council Areas (if different from brigade name) |
| Central Scotland Fire and Rescue Service |
Clackmannanshire, Falkirk, Stirling |
| Dumfries and Galloway Fire and Rescue Service (DG postcode area) |
| Fife Fire and Rescue Service |
| Grampian Fire and Rescue Service |
Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray |
| Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service |
Highland, Orkney, Shetland, Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles) |
| Lothian and Borders Fire and Rescue Service |
East Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scottish Borders, West Lothian |
| Strathclyde Fire and Rescue |
Argyll and Bute, East Ayrshire,
East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire
|
| Tayside Fire and Rescue Service |
Angus, Dundee, Perth and Kinross |
- See also Fire Master for more information about chief fire officers in Scotland
Her Majesty's Fire Inspectorate for Scotland
In Scotland Her Majesty's Fire Service Inspectorate for Scotland (commonly known by the shortened and nationally-unqualified form "HMFSI") exists to inspect all fire Services in Scotland to ascertain how they are discharging their functions under relevant legislation [2]. It functions as an autonomous body under the charge of the Justice Ministry of the Scottish Government[10]
Other fire and rescue services
Other specialised fire and rescue services are operated in Scotland, for example at airports and military establishments.
References
See also
External links