Highlands and Islands Fire And Rescue Service
Highlands and Islands Fire And Rescue Service area
Coverage
Area	Highland, Scotland
Size	31,186 square kilometres
Population	280,000
Operations
Formed	2005
HQ	Inverness
Staff	approx. 1870
Stations	126
Website	http://www.hifrs.org
Fire Authority	Highland and Islands Fire Board
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The Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service (previously Highland and Islands Fire Brigade) (Scottish Gaelic: Seirbheisean Smàlaidh na Gàidhealtachd 's nan Eilean) is the statutory fire and rescue service for northern Scotland, covering the council areas of Highland, Orkney, Shetland, and the Western Isles, and so covering a major part of the Highlands and Islands area. In the United Kingdom 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 Scottish Gaelic ( Gàidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. A statute is a formal written enactment of a Legislative authority that governs a Country, State, City, or County. Fire services in Scotland are provided by local brigades and since the establishment of a devolved Scottish government in 1999 are the responsibility of the Cabinet Secretary for Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. For local government purposes Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" which are all governed by unitary authorities designated as The Highland Council area ( Sgìre Comhairle na Gàidhealtachd in Gaelic, s̪g̊ʲiːɾʲə kɔ Orkney (also known as the Orkney Islands or incorrectly the Orkneys) is an Archipelago in northern Scotland, situated 10 miles (16 km north Shetland (formerly spelled Zetland, from etland; Old Norse non Hjaltland; Sealtainn is an Archipelago off the northeast coast of The Outer Hebrides, ( officially known for local government purposes by the Gaelic name Na h-Eileanan Siar) comprise an island The Highlands and Islands of Scotland are broadly the Scottish Highlands plus Orkney, Shetland and the Hebrides. It is the fire service covering the largest geographical area in the United Kingdom (its area is roughly equivalent in size to Belgium), and has its headquarters in the city of Inverness. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Inverness (Inbhir Nis iɲɪɾʲˈniʃ is a city in northern Scotland. The current Chief Fire Officer is Brian Murray. The rank of Chief Fire Officer or CFO is the highest in the fire Service in England and Wales. [1]

The same area of Scotland is covered by the Northern Constabulary. The Northern Constabulary (Poileas a' Chinn a Tuath is the Police force responsible for Northern Scotland, covering the council areas of

History

The current Fire Service stems from the Northern Area Fire Brigade, formed in 1947 after the passing of the Fire Services Act, and covered the same area the service does today, with the exception of the Western Isles. The Outer Hebrides, ( officially known for local government purposes by the Gaelic name Na h-Eileanan Siar) comprise an island In 1975, with the reorganisation of local government, the service became the Northern Fire Brigade and gained the Western Isles as part of its catchment area. In 1983 another name change was invoked, this time to Highland and Islands Fire Brigade, to more accurately reflect the area which the Brigade served. The current name, Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service, was adopted in the summer of 2005, as a result of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005. As well as the name change, for the first time in the service's history, a Gaelic motto, dìon is freagair, or "protect and respond," was sanctioned. Scottish Gaelic ( Gàidhlig) is a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. [2]

Stations

The service currently operates 127 stations throughout the Highlands and Islands. The only wholetime station is in Inverness, which also operates a retained pump. Of the rest of the stations, 95 are retained and 31 operate as "Community Response Units. " All of the service's stations are supported locally by district offices, which supervise the operations of the stations in their respective areas. These offices are located in Inverness, Aviemore, Fort William, Invergordon, Ullapool, Dornoch, Thurso, Stornoway, Benbecula, Kirkwall, and Lerwick. Aviemore (An Aghaidh Mhòr is a town and tourist resort situated within the Cairngorms National Park in the Highlands of Scotland. Fort William ( Scottish Gaelic: An Gearasdan, "The Garrison" is the largest town in the highlands of Scotland, now that Inverness Invergordon is a town and Port in Easter Ross, in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland. Ullapool ( Ullapul or Ulapul in Gaelic, the "U" pronounced like the "U" in "sea gull" is a small Town of around Dornoch ( Gaelic: Dòrnach, d̪̊ɔːɾnəx is a town and Seaside resort, and former Royal burgh in the Highlands of Scotland This article refers to the town in Scotland For the city in Canada see Thurso Quebec. Stornoway ( Steòrnabhagh in Scottish Gaelic) is a Burgh on the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland Benbecula ( Gaelic: Beinn nam Fadhla peɲəˈvɤːlˠ̪ə is an Island of the Outer Hebrides in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast Kirkwall is the largest town and capital of the Orkney Islands, off the coast of northern mainland Scotland. For the aircraft see Saro Lerwick Lerwick is the only Burgh and main port of the Shetland Islands Inverness is also the location of the main headquarters, which is situated next to the city's fire station.

The service also has a training facility based 25 miles north of Inverness in Invergordon, [3] as well as a state of the art control centre, which again is based in the Highland capital, but on a different site from the main headquarters. Invergordon is a town and Port in Easter Ross, in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland. [4]

External links

• Official website