Chief fire officer (CFO), formerly often just chief officer, is the highest rank in the

fire and rescue services of the United Kingdom Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

. There are currently 50 chief fire officers serving in the United Kingdom in charge of the local authority fire services. There is also a chief fire officer responsible for the Ministry of Defence Fire Services, which includes the Defence Fire and Rescue Service and the RAF Fire Service. Some UK airport fire services also designate their seniors officers as CFOs, though these officers rarely wear the same rank insignia as a local authority chief fire officer. Other titles for this office can include county fire officer and chief executive, neither of which are in common use.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) is the statutory emergency fire and rescue service for the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, England. It is part of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. GMFRS covers an area of ...

does, however, use the title of county fire officer and chief executive'.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service Kent Fire and Rescue Service is the statutory fire and rescue service for the administrative county of Kent and the unitary authority area of Medway, covering a geographical area south of London, to the coast and including major shipping route ...

's chief executive is in charge of maintaining the service; however, they are not a trained firefighter and cannot carry out frontline firefighting or incident command, and those roles are passed down to the director of operations. In the London Fire Brigade, the CFO is now known as the commissioner for fire and emergency planning. Chief fire officers in the United Kingdom are represented by the National Fire Chiefs Council (formerly the Chief Fire Officers Association); it has a separate section representing principal officers in fire and rescue services in Scotland. In

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, the CFO was traditionally referred to as the ''firemaster'', although this title was replaced by ''chief fire officer'' in Scottish brigades in 2006 when the

Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 The Fire (Scotland) Act 2005
text (as passed). is an

came into force. Under proposed changes, chief fire officers were to be renamed brigade managers in line with modernisation directives issued by the

Department for Communities and Local Government The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), formerly the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for housing, communities, local governme ...

. However, the title is unpopular and has so far not been used. Most chief fire officers are former frontline firefighters who have risen through the ranks. A few brigades have, however, employed chief fire officers with other career backgrounds. A chief fire officer is assisted by one deputy chief fire officer and a number of assistant chief fire officers, each of whom is delegated with commanding one or multiple areas of fire and rescue operations, such as training, vehicles and equipment, information technology, or human resources.

Responsibilities

A CFO is responsible for the day-to-day command of the fire service in all areas. Ultimately however major policies and procedures have to be agreed and passed by the

fire authority In England and Wales a fire authority or fire and rescue authority is a statutory body made up of a committee of local councillors which oversees the policy and service delivery of a fire and rescue service. Prior to the Fire Services Act 2004 ma ...

to whom the CFO reports. The fire authority is a committee of locally elected councillors. The committee's prime responsibility is to ensure that the fire service is run properly and responsibly. In simple terms, the chief officer is directly answerable to someone who represents the interests of the general public.

His Majesty's Fire Service Inspectorate

Historically, many CFOs went on to join Her Majesty's Fire Service Inspectorate (HMFSI), formerly Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Fire Services, a government agency directly under the control of the

. Her Majesty's Inspectors are uniformed and considered to be superior to chief fire officers, although they have no power to directly command frontline fire crews. In 2007, the HMFSI was replaced by the office of the Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser whose responsibilities extend to England and Wales. The Chief Fire and Rescue Advisor also retains the title as the ''de jure'' and ''de facto'' HM Chief Inspector of Fire Services.

His Majesty's Fire Service Inspectorate for Scotland His Majesty's Fire Service Inspectorate (HMFSI) in Scotland operates as a body within, but independent of, the Scottish Government. The inspectorate exists to provide independent, risk based, and proportionate professional inspection of the Scot ...

, however, continues its role and functions.

New Zealand

According to the New Zealand Fire Service Act 1975, a chief fire officer in the

New Zealand Fire Service The New Zealand Fire Service ( mi, Whakaratonga Iwi, "Service to the People"; also known as the NZFS) was New Zealand's main firefighting body from 1 April 1976 until 1 July 2017 – at which point it was dissolved and incorporated into the new ...

commands a single fire district. This may be a volunteer fire brigade, with a single fire station, in an outer-urban or rural area, or it may consist of several fire stations in a metropolitan area, staffed by career firefighters.

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

and

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

, with their geographic sprawl, have their career stations divided into multiple districts - two in Wellington and five in Auckland. The other fourteen cities in New Zealand that have career firefighters are sufficiently compact geographically to allow each one to be a single fire district. The rank badge for chief fire officers is an

impeller An impeller or impellor is a rotor used to increase the pressure and flow of a fluid. It is the opposite of a turbine, which extracts energy from, and reduces the pressure of, a flowing fluid. In pumps An impeller is a rotating componen ...

between two ferns below two impellers. They wear white

helmets A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protec ...

with two blue stripes.

References

{{reflist Fire and rescue service organisation in the United Kingdom

Responsibilities

His Majesty's Fire Service Inspectorate

New Zealand

See also

References