Auxiliary Fire Service

E433721

The Auxiliary Fire Service was a British civilian firefighting organization formed before and during World War II to supplement local fire brigades in responding to air raids and other wartime emergencies.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Auxiliary Fire Service canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf civil defence organisation
firefighting organisation
associatedWith Air Raid Precautions (ARP) NERFINISHED
Civil Defence Corps NERFINISHED
badge AFS shoulder titles
commandStructure under local fire brigade chief officers
country United Kingdom
disbandmentReason1968 reorganisation of fire services and civil defence
dissolved 1941
finalDissolution 1968
genderComposition men and women
helmetType steel helmet with AFS markings
inception 1938
jurisdiction local authority areas in the United Kingdom
legalBasis Air Raid Precautions Act 1937 NERFINISHED
memorials commemorative plaques and memorials to AFS firefighters killed in WWII
mergedInto local authority fire brigades
notableEquipment Green Goddess fire engine NERFINISHED
notableFor large-scale mobilisation of civilian firefighters
supporting the Blitz firefighting effort
operatedDuring Cold War NERFINISHED
World War II NERFINISHED
parentOrganisation Home Office NERFINISHED
Ministry of Home Security NERFINISHED
peacetimeRoleAfter1948 reserve for national emergencies
purpose provide firefighting during air raids
supplement local fire brigades during wartime emergencies
recruitment civilian volunteers
reestablished 1948
replaced local authority fire brigades (for wartime centralisation)
replacedBy National Fire Service NERFINISHED
restoredAlongside local authority fire brigades
role civil defence support
firefighting
rescue operations
shortName AFS NERFINISHED
status part-time volunteer force
task assist regular fire brigades at major incidents
pump water from emergency static water supplies
respond to incendiary bomb attacks
trainingFocus firefighting under air raid conditions
rescue from collapsed buildings
use of breathing apparatus
uniform dark blue battledress
vehicleTypeUsed Bedford RLHZ Self Propelled Pump NERFINISHED
wartimeRisk high casualty rates during air raids

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

National Fire Service (United Kingdom) replaced Auxiliary Fire Service