Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade

Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade
Incumbent
Andy Roe
since January 2020
London Fire Brigade
SeatUnion Street, SE1
AppointerThe Monarch

The Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade, previously known as the Chief Fire Officer until c. 2000, is the head of the London Fire Brigade. Andy Roe has held the post since January 2020.[1]

The rank is usually referred to as the London Fire Brigade Commissioner, the LFB Commissioner or simply "Commissioner".

Current Commissioner

Since January 2020, Andy Roe has held the role of Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade; he previously served as Deputy Commissioner.[citation needed]

Before joining the London Fire Brigade in 2002 as a firefighter,[2] he served as an officer in the British Army.[3]

Andy Roe was also operational commander during the Grenfell Tower Fire. He revoked the controversial "stay put" policy set by the previous LFB Commissioner Dany Cotton.[4]

List of London Fire Brigade chief officers and commissioners

From To Military rank
(if applicable)
Name Notes
1833 1861 James Braidwood First director of the London Fire Engine Establishment (which later became the London Fire Brigade).
1861 1891 Captain Eyre Massey Shaw First Chief Officer of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade.
1891 1896 James Sexton Simmonds
1896 1903 Captain (RN) Lionel de Lautour Wells
1903 1909 Rear Admiral James de Courcy Hamilton
1909 1918 Lieutenant Commander Sir Sampson Sladen
1918 1933 Arthur Reginald Dyer
1933 1938 Major Cyril Morris Only LFB chief officer to have been awarded the Military Cross
1938 1941 Commander Sir Aylmer Firebrace The first and only person to head firefighting across the whole of Great Britain.
[Needs clarification what happened from 1941 to 1948.]
1948 1962 Sir Frederick Delve First chief officer after the end of Fire Brigade nationalisation
1962 1970 Leslie Leete
1970 1976 Joseph Milner Director of the Hong Kong Fire Services from 1961–1970 before his appointment to the London Fire Brigade
1976 1980 Peter Darby
1980 1987 Ronald Bullers
1987 1991 Gerald Clarkson
1991 2003 Brian Robinson
2003 2007 Sir Ken Knight
2007 2016 Ron Dobson
2016 2019 Dany Cotton First woman commissioner. Retired earlier than planned due to criticism of LFB handling of fire at Grenfell Tower.
2019 Present Captain Andy Roe

References

  1. ^ "New fire chief appointed after Grenfell row". 10 December 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  2. ^ "Mayor appoints new London Fire Commissioner". London City Hall. 10 December 2019.
  3. ^ at 2:28pm, 11 December 2019. "Former Army Officer Becomes New London Fire Chief". Forces Network.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "Grenfell firefighter who revoked 'stay put' policy made LFB chief". the Guardian. 10 December 2019.