Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service, Fire Safety Advice, Fire Safety Training, Health and Safety

“Working together to create a safer Northern Ireland”

NIFRS has Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with several agencies including the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the Forest Service, the Ulster Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency. MoUs provide details of roles and responsibilities, on-scene management, training and use of resources for each organisation at incidents.

NIFRS continues to ensure that dangers to both our staff and the public are minimised by working in co-operation with partner agencies as outlined below by some of our recent MOUs.

November 2011 - Emergency Services sign unique Road Traffic Collision agreement to help make Northern Ireland’s roads safer

NIFRS, PSNI and NIAS have sign a formal agreement to enhance the interoperability between the Services at the scene of road traffic collisions – where seconds count to save lives on our roads. This unique agreement for Northern Ireland is unmatched throughout the rest of the UK and is a key part of Northern Ireland’s 2020 Road Safety Strategy.

October 2011 - NIFRS Sign Co-Operation Agreement with NI Building Control

NIFRS has signed a co-operation agreement with Northern Ireland Building Control in relation to Fire Safety Legislation. Through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) the two organisations will work together on joint inspections, joint training, non-domestic building regulations applications and other areas as necessary. These activities will ensure a cohesive and joined-up approach to fire safety and compliance with the aspects of legislation that both NIFRS and Building Control are each responsible for.

Integrated Emergency Management

Integrated Emergency Management is an integral part of Emergency Planning. Emergency response arrangements need to be co-ordinated with other organisations as major emergencies can span physical and functional boundaries.

NIFRS continues to work closely with the Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (DARD). In December 2007 NIFRS and DARD's Veterinary Service signed a joint Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen co-operation, both in preparing for, and dealing with, an outbreak of epizootic disease such as Foot-and-Mouth Disease, Bluetongue and Avian Flu. This agreement was updated in June 2011.