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Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service

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Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service
Badge of TWFRS
Operational area
CountryEngland
Metropolitan boroughs
Agency overview
Chief Fire OfficerPeter Heath
Facilities and equipment
Stations17
Engines25
Website
www.twfire.gov.uk Edit this at Wikidata
TWFRS Volvo appliances outside Gateshead fire station in 2018

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, formerly known as the Tyne and Wear Metropolitan Fire Brigade, is the fire and rescue service (FRS) for the metropolitan boroughs of Newcastle Upon Tyne, Gateshead, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland, serving a population of 1.14 million people across an area of 208 square miles (540 km2).[1] It has 17 fire stations and 25 fire engines. Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority is responsible for the running of the service, as well as the publication of performance indicators in accordance with its legal obligations.[2] The chief fire officer is Peter Heath.[3]

History

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Tyne and Wear FRS was established as Tyne and Wear Metropolitan Fire Brigade in 1974 as a result of changes to area boundaries within the north east of England. Essentially, a fire service did exist through delivery of several smaller fire services established under the Fire Brigades Act 1938 (1 & 2 Geo. 6. c. 72) which made it a requirement for local authorities to provide fire cover to their area,[4] although the smaller services were never united as one service as they are today until 1974. During the second World War, all local fire services in the region and on a national level created under the 1938 legislation were nationalised to form the National Fire Service, remaining this way until the Fire Services Act 1947 which handed control back of fire cover back to local authorities in 1948.[5][6] When the service was established in 1974, it brought together four small local fire services and parts of two others – Durham County Fire Brigade, Northumberland County Fire Brigade, Newcastle and Gateshead Fire Brigade, Sunderland Fire Brigade, and South Shields and Tynemouth Fire Brigade – to form the service that exists today.[5]

In June 2003, then Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott submitted a white paper to Parliament outlining reforms to the fire service in the UK. Part of the reforms outlined included changing the name of fire services across the UK to 'fire and rescue service', giving greater emphasis to the changing role of the fire service.[7] In 2004, following further government publications, the name of the service was changed from Tyne and Wear Metropolitan Fire Brigade to Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service,[5] with post-2004 vehicle livery and all other parts of the service reflecting the name change. In 2006, the service had built six new fire stations under the Public Private Partnership initiative, replacing older fire stations that were in need of extensive upgrade; the service had also built a new headquarters in Washington to replace the previous headquarters on Pilgrim Street in the centre of Newcastle as well as a new Technical Services building.[8] In 2011, the location for the new Sunderland North fire station in Fulwell was announced, with the station expected to be opened in late 2014 and replacing the current station nearby.[9]

Performance

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Every fire and rescue service in England and Wales is periodically subjected to a statutory inspection by His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS). The inspection investigated how well the service performs in each of three areas. On a scale of outstanding, good, requires improvement and inadequate, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service was rated as follows:

HMICFRS Inspection Tyne and Wear
Area Rating 2018/2019[10] Rating 2021/22[11] Description
Effectiveness Good Good How effective is the fire and rescue service at keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks?
Efficiency Good Good How efficient is the fire and rescue service at keeping people safe and secure from fire and other risks?
People Good Good How well does the fire and rescue service look after its people?

Fire stations

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The service divides its area into five geographical zones. All 17 fire stations, apart those noted below, are wholetime-crewed:[12]

Gateshead

  • Birtley
  • Chopwell (retained)
  • Gateshead
  • Swalwell (shared with North East Ambulance Service)

Newcastle

  • Byker
  • Gosforth
  • Newcastle Central
  • West Denton (shared with North of Tyne Mountain Rescue Team and North East Ambulance Service

North Tyneside

  • Tynemouth
  • Wallsend

South Tyneside

  • Hebburn (Tri-station shared with Northumbria Police and North East Ambulance Service)
  • South Shields

Sunderland

  • Farringdon (shared with Northumbria Police)
  • Marley Park
  • Rainton Bridge (shared with North East Ambulance Service)
  • Sunderland Central
  • Washington (shared with North East Ambulance Service)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service". HMICFRS. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority". Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  3. ^ "New Chief Fire Officer for Tyne and Wear". Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  4. ^ "Division within HO: Fire Service Department". The National Archives (United Kingdom). Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  5. ^ a b c "History of Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service". Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  6. ^ "Timeline: 1248 to 1967". Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service. Archived from the original on 25 March 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  7. ^ "Our Fire and Rescue Service" (PDF). Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2008. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  8. ^ "Community Fire Stations". Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  9. ^ Wheeler, Katy (1 August 2011). "Site of new Sunderland fire station revealed as Fulwell base prepares to close". Sunderland Echo. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  10. ^ "Tyne and Wear 2018/19". Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS). 20 June 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  11. ^ "Tyne and Wear 2021/22". Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS). 27 July 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  12. ^ "Your Area". Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
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