The provision of a fire service in its functional area, including the establishment and maintenance of a fire brigade, the assessment of fire cover needs and the provision of fire station premises, is a statutory function of individual fire authorities under the Fire Service Acts, 1981 and 2003.
The National Directorate for Fire & Emergency Management (NDFEM), within my Department, supports fire authorities by establishing policy, setting national standards for fire safety and fire service provision, providing a central training programme, issuing guidance on operational and other related matters and providing capital funding for priority infrastructural projects.
Fire services are provided in Ireland by local authorities in accordance with the provisions of the Fire Services Acts, 1981 & 2003. Under this legislation, there are 31 local authorities which provide fire prevention and fire protection services for communities through 27 service delivery structures.
The NDFEM Management Board have undertaken some exploratory work to examine if the retained Fire Service could provide a first response to cardiac emergencies, on behalf of the Health Service Executive (HSE). This is in the context of the extensive coverage provided by 217 fire stations across the country, and the availability of cardiac trained staff with Automatic External Defibrillators in all fire stations. This level of capacity and capability, which is operationally ready 24/7, puts the Local Government system in a unique position to make life saving interventions when life threatening cardiac emergencies occur.
Responsibility for the provision of emergency medical services, including pre-hospital emergency care, rests with the HSE which operates the National Ambulance Service (NAS) and emergency departments in hospitals, in accordance with health sector legislation and national policy.
Fire authorities created under section 10 of the Fire Services Act, 1981 & 2003 are empowered under section 25 of that legislation to carry out or assist in any operation of an emergency nature.
The NAS may call for assistance before its crews reach an incident and many Fire Services are equipped with Automatic External Defibrillators and the majority of fire services have trained their fire-fighters as Cardiac First Responders and Emergency First Responders to the Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council standards.
The feasibility of Fire Services, outside the Dublin Fire Brigade’s area of operation, being commissioned by the HSE to respond in support of the NAS at cardiac emergencies was discussed at national level at the Fire Services National Oversight & Implementation Group, which consists of Fire Service management and staff representatives. This group produced a discussion document as the basis to underpin discussions with the Health sector.
Following a recent request from the HSE, the NDFEM are working with the CCMA to examine the possibility of Fire Services providing a first response to cardiac emergencies, where NAS resources are not immediately available to respond. Retained Fire Services have indicated a willingness to provide a first response to cardiac calls in all parts of the country.
The NDFEM will continue to progress this initiative, in the context of recommendation six of the recently published Review of Retained Fire Services in Ireland (2022), working with the CCMA, the Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA), the HSE and the Department of Health.
Fire services generally respond to calls for assistance from external bodies in accordance with protocols operated within the three fire services Regional Communications Centres.
Any proposal for formalising this assistance would need to be subject to appropriate governance and cost reimbursement arrangements and to be set in the context of a service level agreement between each participating local authority and the HSE/NAS which would not impact on or adversely affect fire services' primary roles.
