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
In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environme ...
based, and proportionate professional inspection 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. ...
(SFRS). It gives assurance to the Scottish public and Scottish Ministers that the SFRS is working in an efficient and effective way, and promotes improvement in the SFRS. It also provides independent, professional advice to Scottish government ministers and has functions in relation to non-domestic fire safety. The statutory basis of the inspectorate is set out in sections 43A to 43G of the
Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012
The Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament. This legislation merged the eight separate police forces and fire and rescue services in Scotland, plus several central agencies, into single agencies covering th ...
that came into effect on 1 April 2013. Its headquarters are at
St Andrews House
St. Andrew's House (SAH), on the southern flank of Calton Hill in central Edinburgh, is the headquarters building of the Scottish Government. The building stands on the site of the former Calton Gaol. Today, the turreted Governor's House is a ...
, Edinburgh.
Chief inspector
HMFSI in Scotland operates under the leadership of HM chief inspector of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The chief inspector is appointed by
Order in Council
An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' Ki ...
. The current chief inspector is Robert Scott. It is general practice for chief inspectors to have previously served as a Principal Officer within a Fire and Rescue Service. Robert Scott served as an assistant chief officer within the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service until his retirement in 2017. He formed part of a small team that helped lead the reform of the fire and rescue services in Scotland. This process led to the creation of the new Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in 2013.
List of chief inspectors:
*Angus D Wilson 19481966
*James D McNicol 19671968
*John Jackson 19681978
*Paddy Watters 19791983
*Richard Knowleton 19841989
*Alex Winton 19891993
*Neil Morrison 19931999
*Dennis Davis 19992003
*Jeff Ord 20042007
*Keith MacGillivray 2008 (Interim)
*Brian Fraser 20082010
*Steven Torrie 20112016
*Martyn Emberson 20172018
*Simon Routh-Jones 20182021
*Robert D Scott 2021presentNew Chief Inspector of the fire service, Scottish Government news release, 12 Feb 2021. /ref>
Fire services in the United Kingdom
The fire services in the United Kingdom operate under separate legislative and administrative arrangements in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland.
Emergency cover is provided by over fifty agencies. These are officially known as a ...
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His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Fire Services
The title and job role of His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Fire and Rescue Services in England, Scotland and Wales is combined with that known as Fire and Rescue Adviser (or Government
Fire and Rescue Adviser) appointed by the devolved and natio ...