The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) is a volunteer-based firefighting agency and statutory body of the NSW Government. The NSW RFS is responsible for the general administration of rural fire management affairs including administration of the Rural Fire Fighting Fund, co-ordination with local government of the State's Rural Fire Brigades, design and provision of fire fighting equipment to rural fire brigades through local government, the training of volunteer Rural Fire Brigade members, community education in relation to fire affairs, emergency planning and generally taking measures for the prevention of loss and life and property from fires. The NSW RFS is responsible to the NSW Minister for Police and Emergency Services, currently Mike Gallacher.

The NSW Rural Fire Service's jurisdiction covers more than 90% of the geographical area of the state of New South Wales in Australia. The NSW RFS claims to be the world's largest volunteer fire service, with 70,448 volunteer firefighters forming 2039 volunteer brigades across the state, although this figure includes many inactive volunteer members. The service also employs 920 paid staff who fulfill the senior operational management and administrative roles of the service (current January 2009).

Coordinates: 32°0′S 147°0′E / 32°S 147°E / -32; 147

New South Wales (abbreviated as NSW) is a state of Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales encompasses the whole of the Australian Capital Territory. The state capital is Sydney, which is also the state's most populous city. As of June 2010^[update], the estimated population was 7,238,819, which was 34.5% of the population of Australia, making it Australia's most populous state. Inhabitants of New South Wales are referred to as New South Welshmen.

The colony of New South Wales was founded in 1788 and originally comprised much of the Australian mainland, as well as Van Diemen's Land, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island, in addition to the area currently referred to as the state of New South Wales, which was formed during Federation in 1901. New Zealand briefly became a part of New South Wales when it was annexed by Britain in 1840. During the 19th century, large areas were successively separated to form the British colonies of Tasmania (established as a separate colony named Van Diemen's Land in 1825), South Australia (1836), Victoria (1851) and Queensland (1859).

South Wales (Welsh: De Cymru) is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of Cardiff (population approximately 324,800), as well as Swansea and Newport. The Brecon Beacons national park covers about a third of South Wales, containing Pen y Fan, the highest mountain south of Snowdonia.

The extent of South Wales is loosely defined, but it is generally considered to be the area surrounding the M4 motorway, including the historic counties of Glamorganshire and Monmouthshire and sometimes extending westwards to include south Carmarthenshire and south Pembrokeshire. In the western extent, from Swansea westwards, local people would probably recognise that they lived in both South Wales and in West Wales — there is considerable overlap in these somewhat artificial boundaries. The northern border is particularly ill-defined, but the A40 may be a good approximation whilst others consider the more southerly Heads of the Valleys Road as the boundary.

Wales ⁱ/ˈweɪlz/ (Welsh: Cymru;Welsh pronunciation: [ˈkəm.rɨ] ( listen)) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain,bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km² (8,023 sq mi). Wales has over 1,200 km (750 mi) of coastline, including its offshore islands; the largest, Anglesey (Ynys Môn), is also the largest island in the Irish Sea. Wales is largely mountainous, with its highest peaks in the north and central areas, especially in Snowdonia (Eryri), which contains Snowdon (Yr Wyddfa), its highest summit.

During the Iron Age and early medieval period, Wales was inhabited by the Celtic Britons. A distinct Welsh national identity emerged in the centuries after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, and Wales is regarded as one of the modern Celtic nations today. Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was recognised as King of Wales in 1057. Llywelyn ap Gruffydd's death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of England's conquest of Wales. The castles and town walls erected to ensure its permanence are now UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to what was to become modern Wales, in the early 15th century. Wales was subsequently annexed by England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 since when, excluding those matters now devolved to Wales, English law has been the legal system of Wales and England. Distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism and the Labour Party. Welsh national feeling grew over the century; Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and The Welsh Language Society in 1962. The National Assembly for Wales, created in 1999 following a referendum, holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters.

A fire department or fire brigade (also known as a fire and rescue service or simply fire service) is a public or private organization that provides predominatley emergency firefighting and rescue services for a certain jurisdiction, which typically is a municipality, county, or fire protection district. A fire department usually contains one or more fire stations within its boundaries, and may be staffed by career firefighters, volunteer firefighters, or a combination thereof.

A fire department may also provide "fire protection" or fire prevention services, whereby firefighters visit homes and give fire safety advice and fit smoke alarms for members of the public. In many countries fire protection or prevention is seen as an important role for the fire service, as preventing a fire from occurring in the first place can obviously save lives.

Most public or municipal fire departments also carry out an enforcement role, to ensure that commercial dwellings (hotels, offices, factories, and so on) are equipped with adequate fire precautions to ensure that in the event of fire, people can safely evacuate the premises unharmed. This is also part of the protection or prevention role.