The Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 (c 21) is an Act

Act of Parliament

An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...

 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...

.

It came into effect on 1 October 2004. It only applies to Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 and most provisions apply only in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. Replacing the previous Fire Services Act 1947

Fire Services Act 1947

-General Arrangement of the Act:-Scotland:The FRSA 2004 extended only to England and Wales, thus leaving the FSA 1947 in force in Scotland. Most of the 1947 Act was later repealed by the FSA 2005, which left ss...

 in England and Wales

England and Wales

England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...

, it clarifies the duties and powers of fire authorities

Fire Authority

In England and Wales a fire authority or fire and rescue authority is a statutory body made up of a committee of local councillors which oversees the policy and service delivery of a fire and rescue service...

 to:-

• promote fire safety
  Fire safety
  Fire safety refers to precautions that are taken to prevent or reduce the likelihood of a fire that may result in death, injury, or property damage, alert those in a structure to the presence of a fire in the event one occurs, better enable those threatened by a fire to survive, or to reduce the...
  
  
• fight fire
  Fire
  Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products. Slower oxidative processes like rusting or digestion are not included by this definition....
  
  s
• protect people and property from fires
• rescue people from road traffic incident
• deal with other specific emergencies, such as flood
  Flood
  A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
  
  ing or terrorist attack
  Terrorism
  Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
  
   and
• do other things to respond to the particular needs of their communities and the risks they face.

Section 44

Sections 44(3) and (4) were repealed on 20 February 2007 by section 6 of the Emergency Workers (Obstruction) Act 2006

Emergency Workers (Obstruction) Act 2006

The Emergency Services Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is intended to reduce the instances of obstruction of, or assaults, on emergency service personnel.Sections 1 to 6 came into force on 20 February 2007....

.

Section 61 - Commencement

The following orders have been made under this section:

• The Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 (Commencement) (England and Scotland) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/2304 (C. 100))
• The Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 (Commencement) (Wales) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/2917 (W. 256) (C. 121))

External links

• Office of the Deputy Prime Minister - Information on the act
• The Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004, as amended from the National Archives.
• The Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004, as originally enacted from the National Archives.
• Explanatory notes to the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004.