Alasdair George Hay, (born 24 December 1961) is a British

firefighter A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

. He was the first Chief Fire Officer of the

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS; gd, Seirbheis Smàlaidh agus Teasairginn na h-Alba) is the national fire and rescue service of Scotland. It was formed by the merger of eight regional fire services in the country on 1 April 2013. ...

Early life

Hay was born on 24 December 1961 in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Career

Hay was a

with

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service Essex County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFRS) is the statutory fire and rescue service for the county of Essex in the east of England, and is one of the largest fire services in the country, covering an area of and a population of over 1.7mill ...

from September 1983 to October 1992. He was a senior instructor at the

Scottish Fire Services College The Scottish Fire Service College, later known as the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service College Gullane (SFRS College Gullane), was a training facility located in East Lothian that operated from 1954 to 2015. A former hotel building, it was used f ...

from 1992 to 1994. In 1994, he joined

Tayside Fire and Rescue Service Tayside Fire and Rescue Service was, between 1975 and 2013, the statutory fire and rescue service for the area of Tayside in Scotland. It was amalgamated into the single Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in 2013. Geographical Area Tayside Fir ...

. By 2009, he had risen to the rank of Deputy Chief Fire Officer. Between May 2011 and March 2012, he was seconded to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Advisory Unit. Returning to the Tayside Fire and Rescue Service, he was appointed Acting

Chief Fire Officer Chief fire officer (CFO), formerly often just chief officer, is the highest rank in the fire and rescue services of the United Kingdom. There are currently 50 chief fire officers serving in the United Kingdom in charge of the local authority fire ...

on 1 April 2012. Hay was appointed Chief Fire Officer of the newly created

in October 2013 to prepare for the new nationwide service. He oversaw a workforce of more than 9,000 firefighters and support staff. Hay retired from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service on 15 February 2019, handing over to the current Chief Fire Officer Martin Blunden.

Honours

Order of the British Empire (Civil) Ribbon

UK Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon

In the 2011

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

, Hay was awarded the

Queen's Fire Service Medal __NOTOC__ The King's Fire Service Medal, introduced in 1954, is awarded to members of the fire services in the United Kingdom for distinguished service or gallantry. It was also formerly awarded by Commonwealth countries, most of which now have t ...

(QFSM) for Distinguished Service. He is a recipient of the

Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'or de la Reine Elizabeth II) or the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

, the

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

and the

Fire Brigade Long Service and Good Conduct Medal The Fire and Rescue Service Long Service and Good Conduct Medal was established in June 1954 as a long service medal awarded to members of fire and rescue services throughout the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. It was fir ...

. He was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the

2017 Birthday Honours The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hay, Alasdair Living people 1961 births British firefighters Recipients of the Queen's Fire Service Medal People from Edinburgh Commanders of the Order of the British Empire