Definition

Noun: 1. A fire department: The organized body of firefighters and their equipment in a specific area, responsible for extinguishing fires and often for other emergency services. This term is primarily used in British English. 2. A temporary or private firefighting group: An ad-hoc or privately organized group of people equipped to combat fires, often in a specific context like a factory, large estate, or historical setting.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Primary Meaning):
  • The fire brigade arrived within minutes and quickly put out the blaze.
  • He decided to join the fire brigade after graduating from school.
• Noun (Secondary Meaning):
  • The film set had its own private fire brigade on standby during the complex stunt.
  • The historic mansion maintains a volunteer fire brigade due to its remote location.

Advanced Usage

• "To call out the fire brigade": To summon the firefighters to an emergency.
  • Smoke was seen coming from the building, so we immediately called out the fire brigade.
• Used metaphorically to describe a group hastily assembled to deal with a crisis.
  • When the software failed before launch, a fire brigade of programmers worked through the night to fix it.

Variants and Related Words

• Fire department (noun): The standard term used in American English for the public organization that fights fires.
• Fire service (noun): A common term in British English, often used interchangeably with 'fire brigade'.
• Firefighter (noun): An individual member of a fire brigade or fire department.

Synonyms

• Fire department (chiefly US)
• Fire service
• Fire company (archaic/regional)

Related Phrases

• Fire engine: The vehicle used by the fire brigade.
• Fire station: The building where the fire brigade and its equipment are housed.

Noun

1. British name for a fire department
2. a private or temporary organization of individuals equipped to fight fires