Fire Safety in the United Kingdom

There is a monument at the end of Fleet Street. It is just the monument that is its name. It was put up there to commemorate the Great Fire¹ of London in 1666. There were no fire brigades in the past and the devastating fire destroyed 13,000 houses, 89 parish churches², and the most of public buildings.

Fire brigades were organized in 1667, the year after the Great Fire. It should be noted that in Britain fire protection has always depended on a combination of public service and private enterprise. Acts of 1707 and 1774 required every parish to provide horse-drawn engines³, hoses, and ladders. But insurance companies⁴ established their own, more efficient brigades for the benefit of subscribers⁵ whose buildings had the companies' own fire marks (the metal disks).

At present, Fire Protection in the United Kingdom is being fulfilled by 63 consolidated fire brigades plus three small brigades. They serve the Isles of Man, Juernsey, and Jersey.

The British consolidated their Fire Service after World War II, going from a pre-war total of 1,600 fire brigades down to⁶ the present 63. The Fire Service Act was passed in 1947 and the national standards were introduced. One consolidated brigade serves all of Northern Ireland, eight serve Scotland, and the other 54 are in England and Wales. Most consolidated brigades correspond to counties and protect population of 0,5 - 1,5 million.

The national government plays an important role in British Fire Protection and Fire Prevention. Most of the Home Office's⁷ functions relating to fire are carried out by its Fire and Emergency Planning Department⁸, which has three major units:

– G1, which sets standards for operations and equipment

– G2 Fire Safety Division, for prevention and legislative issues⁹

– Fire Service Inspectorate¹⁰, which coordinates and monitors fire brigades' activity.

The United Kingdom has several organizations that play special role in fire protection and prevention, in addition to the fire brigades and the Home Office. The Fire Protection Association¹¹ (FPA) is one of them. It is a relatively small organization, which promotes fire safety in industry and commerce. This includes relevant fire suppression and prevention approaches. FPA training courses are aimed at people in industry and commerce with responsibility for the fire protection of their companies. The FPA also runs seminars and conferences in fire safety. The Fire Protection Association also provides much printed material free of charge for educational purposes.

In most of the United Kingdom, the range of services provided by the fire brigades includes hazardous material responses, urban heavy rescue, extrication of victims from vehicle accidents, and a wide variety of other services - but not emergency medical service (EMS)¹². Firefighters are trained in first aid but not usually sent as first aid to medical incidents, as for example in the United States.

Notes

1. Great Fire – великий лондонский пожар

2. parish church – приходская церковь

3. horse-drawn engine – насос на конной тяге

4. insurance company – страховая компания

5. for the benefit of subscribers – ради подписчиков, в пользу подписчиков

6. to go from … down to – переходить от … к

7. Home Office – министерство внутренних дел

8. Fire and Emergency Planning Department – управление пожарной охраны и черезвычайного планирования

9. Fire Safety Division, for prevention and legislative issues – отдел пожарной пропаганды и надзора за исполнением закона о пожарной безопасности

10. Fire Service Inspectorate – пожарная инспекция

11. Fire Protection Association – ассоциация (по разработке мер) пожарной безопасности

12. emergency medical service – скорая помощь.

Поиск по сайту: