We have recently set up a new primary authority partnership for fire safety with Tyne & Wear Fire & Rescue Services (TWFRS), the beauty of primary authority scheme is the ability to choose an authority that best suits your organisations requirements, at this time TWFRS offers the best support for BFFF members.

Signing up to any of the federation’s primary authority partnerships is free, this means you get free industry level advice including fire safety, health & safety, food safety, food hygiene and trading standards.

Your company name goes onto the primary authority register for other authorities to see, this means other authorities are required to contact the ‘Primary’ before visiting your business. To sign up to any of our free primary authority partnerships simply contact:  simonbrentnall@bfff.co.uk

Andy Dunne is our new contact at Tyne and Wear and we look forward to working with him going forward. In addition to the free service for industry level advice, Tyne and Wear can provide specific advice, visit your premises and/or review your current fire management systems for a nominal fee.

Andy has provided a short introduction as below:

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service (TWFRS) has 17 fire stations and covers an area of 208 square miles with a population of 1.1 million people. TWFRS operates several national resilience assets including an urban search and rescue team and a high volume pumping unit.

Like all fire and rescue services, TWFRS has a statutory duty to enforce fire safety within its area. This function is carried out by the Fire Safety team. Another role of this team is to facilitate TWFRS’s contribution to the Primary Authority scheme.

The Primary Authority scheme was introduced in 2009 following the passing of the Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008. Its primary purpose is to reduce the regulatory burden on businesses and improve consistency in how they are regulated, particularly those operating across multiple local authority boundaries.

TWFRS has participated in the Primary Authority Scheme since 2014. As of August 2025 we work with 28 partner organisations that operate in a range of industries.

TWFRS offers a range of services to its primary authority partners. These include guidance relating to fire risk assessments, assistance to create fire safety policy documents and help with developing fire safety training. A further benefit is access to our extensive fire training facility located near Sunderland.

I joined County Durham & Darlington Fire and Rescue Service as a firefighter in 2009. After several years I gained my initial fire safety qualification and began carrying out fire safety enforcement work alongside my role as a firefighter.

In 2020 I transferred to TWFRS. I worked as a firefighter at Gateshead and then Wallsend fire stations before leaving the service in 2023 to become a fire risk assessor for a local authority. In December 2024 I re-joined TWFRS as a primary authority officer.

Andy Dunne

Primary Authority Officer

Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service

August 2025.