Powers in An Emergency
Like any of the other three main emergency services (Police, Ambulance and HM Coastguard), LA / PS Fire Service personnel are given substantial powers of entry (and other legal power) to carry out their duties. They are legally obliged to respond to any form of fire related emergency and any other emergency which presents a risk to life or property when called upon to do so. They also have a responsibility to provide certain services in the event of terrorist attack. Except in all but a few circumstances, there is generally no occasion where a public fire service can not legally gain entry to premises or property to fight fire or protect life. As such, obstructing a firefighter or fire officer from carrying out their duties is a serious criminal offence.
Read more about this topic: Local Authority Fire Service
Famous quotes containing the words powers and/or emergency:
“The Powers whose name and shape no living creature knows
Have pulled the Immortal Rose;
And though the Seven Lights bowed in their dance and wept,
The Polar Dragon slept,
His heavy rings uncoiled from glimmering deep to deep....”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“In this country, you never pull the emergency brake, even when there is an emergency. It is imperative that the trains run on schedule.”
—Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921–1990)