Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service
Encyclopedia
The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) (formerly Northern Ireland Fire Brigade) is the statutory fire and rescue service for Northern Ireland
. The NIFRS is overseen by the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service Board, which in turn is subordinate to the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
. NIFRS has a workforce of around 2,230 personnel.
NIFRS serves the entire population of Northern Ireland, an area of over 5500 square miles (14,244.9 km²) with a population of 1.71 million people.
) is crewed by volunteers. The Service is organised into four 'Area Commands': Western, Southern, Northern and Eastern. The Eastern Area Command covers Greater Belfast
.
Emergency cover is provided by a current establishment of:
NIFRS Training Centre is located at Boucher Crescent, South Belfast
and headquarters is in Lisburn
, County Antrim
.
s consists of:
NIFRS firefighter
s are trained to deal with all types of fire incidents, as well as traffic collisions, building collapses, and various specialist rescues. The Service is also the enforcing authority for fire safety legislation.
As with other fire and rescue services in the United Kingdom
, the NIFRS has been the target of frequent attacks while attending incidents. In 2010/11, the Service recorded 145 'hostile crowd' incidents without injury or damage, 27 cases of damage to fire engines, two cases of injury to a firefighter and 4 cases of combined injury to firefighter and vehicle damage.
Until recently, the organisation's name was the Northern Ireland Fire Brigade. The Brigade lost a number of firemen during the Troubles
, including one shot while tackling a blaze in 1973 set during the Ulster Workers' Council strike
.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. The NIFRS is overseen by the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service Board, which in turn is subordinate to the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive...
. NIFRS has a workforce of around 2,230 personnel.
NIFRS serves the entire population of Northern Ireland, an area of over 5500 square miles (14,244.9 km²) with a population of 1.71 million people.
Operations
There are 68 fire stations in Northern Ireland, seven of which are full-time and seven are wholetime/retained. 7 are variable crewed between wholetime and retain firefighters during the day with retain firefighters only at night. 46 stations are retained, and one (on Rathlin IslandRathlin Island
Rathlin Island is an island off the coast of County Antrim, and is the northernmost point of Northern Ireland. Rathlin is the only inhabited offshore island in Northern Ireland, with a rising population of now just over 100 people, and is the most northerly inhabited island off the Irish coast...
) is crewed by volunteers. The Service is organised into four 'Area Commands': Western, Southern, Northern and Eastern. The Eastern Area Command covers Greater Belfast
Greater Belfast
Greater Belfast is an area surrounding and including Belfast in Northern Ireland.It includes Belfast and parts of the North Down, Lisburn, Castlereagh and Newtownabbey district council areas. Greater Belfast is the largest urban area in Northern Ireland, and second largest in Ireland...
.
Emergency cover is provided by a current establishment of:
- 917 wholetime firefighters
- 994 retained firefighters
- 12 volunteer firefighters
- 58 regional control centre staff
- 208 support staff, plus 53 part-time caretakers
NIFRS Training Centre is located at Boucher Crescent, South Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
and headquarters is in Lisburn
Lisburn
DemographicsLisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area and is classified as a Large Town by the . On census day there were 71,465 people living in Lisburn...
, County Antrim
County Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
.
Fleet
NIFRS' current operational fleet of fire engineFire apparatus
A fire apparatus, fire engine, fire truck, or fire appliance is a vehicle designed to assist in fighting fires by transporting firefighters to the scene and providing them with access to the fire, along with water or other equipment...
s consists of:
- 124 pumping appliances
- 12 rescue pumps
- 6 aerial ladder platforms
- 2 rescue tenderHeavy rescue vehicleA heavy rescue vehicle is a type of specialty firefighting or EMS apparatus. They are primarily designed to provide the specialized equipment necessary for technical rescue situations such as auto accidents requiring vehicle extrication, building collapses, confined space rescue, rope rescues and...
s - 3 operational support units
- 4 command support units
- 4 water tankers
- 3 all-terrain vehicles
- 11 prime moverTractor unitA tractor unit, prime mover , road tractor, or traction unit is a heavy-duty commercial vehicle within the large goods vehicle category, usually with a large displacement diesel engine, and several axles. The tractor unit serves as a method of moving trailers...
s with 25 pods - 96 rapid response vehicles
- 3 special team vehicles
NIFRS firefighter
Firefighter
Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
s are trained to deal with all types of fire incidents, as well as traffic collisions, building collapses, and various specialist rescues. The Service is also the enforcing authority for fire safety legislation.
As with other fire and rescue services in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, the NIFRS has been the target of frequent attacks while attending incidents. In 2010/11, the Service recorded 145 'hostile crowd' incidents without injury or damage, 27 cases of damage to fire engines, two cases of injury to a firefighter and 4 cases of combined injury to firefighter and vehicle damage.
Until recently, the organisation's name was the Northern Ireland Fire Brigade. The Brigade lost a number of firemen during the Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
, including one shot while tackling a blaze in 1973 set during the Ulster Workers' Council strike
Ulster Workers' Council Strike
The Ulster Workers' Council strike was a general strike that took place in Northern Ireland between 15 May and 28 May 1974, during "The Troubles". The strike was called by loyalists and unionists who were against the Sunningdale Agreement, which had been signed in December 1973...
.
Statistics
In 2010/11, NIFRS received 48,632 emergency calls, of which it mobilised to 30,784. The breakdown of these mobilised calls were:- 3,618 primary (major) fires
- 10,968 secondary fires
- 1,621 chimney fires
- 2,095 special services, including traffic collisions (612), person release (326), lift incidents (134), make-safe incidents (391), animal rescues (124), chemical incidents (116), effecting entry (99), flooding (52) and other incidents (241)
- 715 other miscellaneous incidents
- 8,018 false alarms (due to equipment)
- 2,930 false alarms (with good intent)
- 819 false alarms (malicious)
See also
- Fire service in the United KingdomFire service in the United KingdomThe fire services in the United Kingdom operate under separate legislative and administrative arrangements in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales...
- Firefighters
- List of Government departments and agencies in Northern Ireland