Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, formerly Tyne and Wear Metropolitan Fire Brigade, is the fire and rescue service for the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear. The service provides emergency fire cover to the five comprising metropolitan boroughs of Sunderland, Gateshead, Newcastle Upon Tyne, North Tyneside and South Tyneside, serving a population of 1.09 million people and a total geographical area of 538 square kilometres. Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Authority is responsible for the running of the service, as well as the publication of performance indicators in accordance with its legal obligations. In April 2017, Chris Lowther was appointed Chief Fire Officer. In November 2018, the service announced proposals to cut frontline operations in order to meet budget requirements imposed by the Government. The proposals are currently under public consultation and members of the public are welcome to complete the consultation survey and attend the remaining meetings, a full list of which can be found at the Tyne and Wear Fire Service website. The public consultation ends in January 2019.
