Tayside Fire and Rescue Service

Tayside Fire and Rescue Service was, between 1975 and 2013, the statutory fire and rescue service for the area of Tayside in Scotland. It was amalgamated into the single Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in 2013.

Tayside Fire and Rescue covers an area of 7,500 square kilometres, consisting predominantly of rural areas, but with urban centres in Dundee and Perth. The population of this area is 392,000 people. Within the service area there are two universities which increase the population of Dundee by approximately 23,000 for parts of the year. The economy has historically been based around journalism, manufacturing and sea based industries. Whilst these are important, there has recently been an increase in research and development sectors. Tayside Fire and Rescue employs over 700 personnel. Of these 409 are operational wholetime firefighters, 236 are retained firefighters, and 24 volunteer firefighters. There are 21 members of the control room and 58 support staff. There are 24 stations located within the area. There are 4 wholetime stations, 2 wholetime/retained stations, and 15 are staffed through the retained duty system. There are also 3 stations that are staffed by volunteers. There is a fleet of 50 appliances, including urban search and rescue (USAR) equipment, and other specialist response and service delivery units and vehicles

On 16 May 1975, following local government reorganisation, Tayside Fire Brigade was formed from the Brigades of Angus, Perth & Kinross and Dundee. The new Brigade was now responsible for some 7,770 sq kilometres (3,000 sq miles) of area protecting a population in the region of 416,000.

The Brigade was under the control of Tayside Regional Council until a further local government reorganisation in 1996, when it was placed back into the hands of Perth & Kinross, Angus and Dundee City Councils. A joint Fire Board made up of representatives from all councils was then formed to administer the Brigade.

With the introduction of the Fire (Scotland) Act in 2005 and the additional responsibilities it contained, the Brigade changed its name to Tayside Fire and Rescue, to reflect the wider responsibility we now hold for rescue.

From the days of tin helmets and horse-drawn fire pumps, the Fire and Rescue Service has grown and developed into a highly skilled and well equipped organisation which carries out, amongst others, the following duties:

Tayside Fire and Rescue Service, along with the other seven fire and rescue services across Scotland, was amalgamated into a single, new Scottish Fire and Rescue Service on 1 April 2013. This replaced the previous system of eight regional fire and rescue services across Scotland which existed since 1975. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has its headquarters in Perth.

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