Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade

Incumbent
Andy Roe
since January 2020

London Fire Brigade
Seat| Union Street, SE1
Appointer| The 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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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.