In England the 45 Fire and Rescue Authorities are responsible for all fire and rescue services.

The structure of the Fire and Rescue Authorities is dependent on the council type in the area. Where the fire and rescue service shares a boundary with a single unitary authority, the council takes responsibility of the service. 15 FRA in England work this way, including Cornwall and the Council of the Isles of Scilly.

Combined Fire Authorities are present in areas where there is more than one upper tier authority in a non-metropolitan fire and rescue area. The CFAs are comprised of elected councillors from each constituent council, appointed proportionally to population size. 23 out of the 45 FRAs are CFAs.

There are 5 FRAs which are based in metropolitan areas, with a similar structure to the non-metropolitan CFAs. London and Greater Manchester have their own structures, where the mayor has overall responsibility for Fire and Rescue services.