Fire Service Operations

The Fire Services Act, 1981 sets out the rules and regulations that the fire service works to. The National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management provides support to the Local Authorities to make sure these rules and regulations are put in place and that health and safety is prioritised. We provide funding to the fire service for the purchase of appliances and equipment. We also support the fire service by running a national training programme and by publishing guidance on relevant matters and by setting general policy.

The National Directorate for Fire and Emergency Management has developed a policy document called Keeping Communities Safe (KCS) which sets out a system of national processes and standards for fire service delivery in Ireland based on a risk management approach. The KCS document is the outcome of a wide ranging review of fire service activities and is supported by a series of documents on issues such as fire services training and safety management systems for fire services. A further set of documents titled Good Practice Notes, which describe the best way for the fire service to deal with a range of situations, aims to achieve consistent good practice nationally.