Fire
Fire-fighting is a public service that continues to be dominated by public provision, although in Denmark, a private company provides more than half of the nation's fire services, and in the United States, there are a number of small towns and cities that rely on private providers.
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Private Finance Initiative in the Fire and Rescue Service (Web Page) Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), 2007 This online portal provides Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs) with information on the Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and how FRAs might use it to improve delivery of their services. UK
Fire and Rescue Performance Framework 2006/07 (Web Page)
Audit Commission, 2006
This document sets out how the Audit Commission will review the improvement fire and rescue authorities have made since their CPA corporate assessment in 2005. It reflects the identified needs to promote value for money; improve financial management and financial reporting; encourage improvements in public services that people value; promote good governance, greater accountability, better decision making and the proper conduct of public business; and stimulate significant improvement in the use of performance information, data quality, data analysis, information management and the public accessibility of relevant information.
Review of Fire Services Funding (PDF) New South Wales Parliament, Legislative Assembly, Public Accounts Committee, 2004 New South Wales Parliament, Public Accounts Committee, Report No. 5/53 (No.148) - September 2004 The report evaluates the current fire services funding arrangements and alternative funding arrangements in New South Wales. Funding is based on contributions collected by insurance companies from policy holders. The report finds that this type of funding leads to free riding and further, is not transparent. It then outlines a series of recommendations to improve the system of funding for fire services. ISBN 0734766297 Australia
A Review of Victorian Fire Services Funding Arrangements (PDF) Department of Treasury and Finance, Government of Western Australia, 2003 A short review of the funding arrangements for fire services in Victoria, Australia. The review compared Victoria's current system against four alternative models and concludes that no changes should be made to the current funding arrangements. Australia
A Test of Fire: Rural/Metro and the Future of Fire Services in Scottsdale (PDF) Dodenhoff, David, 2003 Goldwater Institute, Policy Report No. 179 Dodenhoff, of the Hudson Institute, argues that the private fire in Scottsdale, Arizona has provided high-quality fire services, and that local citizens should not vote to replace them with a municipal one, which would create risks associated with permanent government monopoly. Additionally, he recommends that Scottsdale should establish a competitive bidding process to ensure fire services at the lowest cost. USA
True Hero: The Life and Times of James Braidwood, Father of the British Fire Service Henham, Brian , 2000 Braidwood Books UK
Fire Protection Privatization: A Cost Effective Approach to Public Safety (Web Page)
Guardiano, John R; Haarmeyer, David and Poole, Robert W, Jnr., 1992
Reason Foundation: Policy Study No. 152
Government Prohibitions on Volunteer Fire Fighting in Nineteenth-Century America: A Property Rights Perspective McChesney, Fred S., 1986 Journal of Legal Studies, Vol. 15 (January 1986), pp.69-92 For the most part, large American cities are served solely by paid city employees and private alternatives are legally prohibited. This is puzzling seeing as evidence suggests that private for-profit production of fire services yields lower average cost than government provision. Government provision stems from market failure arguments, the public-interest hypothesis, which is evaluated from a property-rights perspective. This is then tested against a self-interest hypothesis that public provision emerged as it was advantageous to firemen, insurance companies and politicians, allowing them to earn rents. The article argues that the self-interest hypothesis is the more convincing interpretation of the form and history of fire fighting in the USA. USA
Public Versus Private Provision of Governmental Services: The Case of Danish Fire Protection Services Kristensen, Ole P., 1983 Urban Studies, Vol. 20, No.1 (1983), pp.1-9. This article provides a comparative evaluation of private and public provision of fire protection services in Denmark, using multiple regression analysis. It finds significant cost differences in favour of private provision, which can be attributed to economies of scale, the presence of competition and the separation of demand from production which follows from contracting.
Private Provision for Public Services in Denmark: The Case of Falck Hansen, H. , 1998 Safety Science, Vol. 30, No. 1 (1998), pp. 165-172. This paper presents a brief overview of the Danish fire and ambulance services which has traditionally been contracted out, originally growing out of a national private rescue corps, Falck. The analysis focuses on the history of public provision, and the political and administrative system in Denmark that enables successful contracting-out. It concludes that the success also stems from the credibility and image of the provider - good relations with trade unions and a well-educated workforce.
Municipal Fire Protection Services: Comparison of Alternative Organizational Forms Ahlbrandt, Roger S. Jr., 1973 Sage Professional Paper in Administrative and Policy Studies 03-001, 1973 USA
Fire Marks and Insurance Office Fire Brigades Williams, Bertram, 1927 Charles and Edwin Layton UK