WFRS is required to prevent and protect our communities from fire, enforce fire legislation, investigate and provide fire and rescue emergency response to our communities. No charges are
levied for these services.
Under the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 (FRSA) charges may be levied for non-emergency activities and services provided by WFRS.
These charges may be for the use of equipment, facilities and services provided by WFRS and any such charges should be made on a cost-recovery basis and not for making a profit.
WFRS adopt the National Operational Guidance (NOG) as fully as reasonably practicable in order to achieve our Service’s strategic priorities as identified in our Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP).
Legal basis
The legal basis for charging comes from the FRSA Part 2, Section 18A - Charging by authorities.
The Fire Rescue Authority (FRA) has no legal power to make a profit from any charges, but it is entitled to recover reasonable costs.
Section 18A(5) of the FRSA states “In setting the amount of the charge, a FRA must secure that, taking one financial year with another, the authority’s income from charges does not exceed the cost to the authority of taking the action for which the charges are imposed.”