Fire Brigades Act 1938 Explained

Short Title:	Fire Brigades Act 1938
Type:	Act
Parliament:	Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long Title:	An Act to make further provision for fire services in Great Britain and for purposes connected therewith.
Year:	1938
Citation:	1 & 2 Geo. 6. c. 72
Royal Assent:	29 July 1938

The Fire Brigades Act 1938 (1 & 2 Geo. 6. c. 72) (in force until 1941, repealed 1947) was the primary legislation for Great Britain, excluding London, that placed responsibility for the provision of a fire brigade onto the local authority, and away from the insurance companies.^[1]

The act was passed following a report by the Departmental Committee on Fire Brigade Services 1935, which was also known as the Riverdale Committee in reference to its chairman, Lord Riverdale.^{[2] [3]}

The act was only in force for a short time before in 1941 all local authority fire services in Great Britain were transferred to the National Fire Service. After World War II new legislation was passed and the Fire Services Act 1947 took over as the primary legislation dealing with fire services in Great Britain.

See also

• Fire service in the United Kingdom
• Fire Services Act 1947
• Fire Services Act 1951
• Fire Services Act 1959
• Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004
• Fire (Scotland) Act 2005

Notes and References

1. http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/about_us/our_history/key_dates.asp London Fire Brigade: Key dates (accessed 29 Jan 07)
2. Book: Ewen . Shane . Fighting Fires: Creating the British Fire Service, 1800–1978 . 2009 . Palgrave Macmillan . Basingstoke . 9780230248403 . 125 . 27 March 2020.
3. Web site: Catalogue record: COMMISSIONS, COMMITTEES AND CONFERENCES: Departmental Committee on Fire Brigade Services 1935 (The Riverdale Committee): signed report. . National Archives . 27 March 2020.