The Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) is the professional body representing senior
fire officers in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
. The organisation used to be known as the Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers Association, it was formed in 1974 following local government re-structuring. Since 2017, the operational activity of the CFOA has been delivered by the new
National Fire Chiefs Council
The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) is a membership body which represents area managers and above. The Council itself which meets quarterly is made up of the chief fire officers of the fire services in the United Kingdom. It replaced the Fire ...
.
The CFOA website says, "''CFOA's Aim is to continue as the professional voice of the UK Fire Service, assisting and supporting our members to fulfil their leadership role in improving the well being of local communities in all matters relating to the Fire Services' activities. ''"
Membership of the CFOA is open to any UK-based senior fire officer above the rank of assistant chief officer, in addition to
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 ...
, sometimes now known as brigade managers or, in Scotland,
Fire Master. The CFOA acts as a collective 'voice' for the
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 ...
on issues such policy, training, legislative, and fire safety issues.
CFOA and FiReControl
As one example of setting policy, the CFOA was involved in the planning process for response times for the now-abandoned
FiReControl
FiReControl was a project, initiated in the United Kingdom in March 2004, to reduce the number of control rooms used to handle emergency calls for fire services and authorities. Presently there are 46 control rooms in England that handle calls fr ...
project.
Its aim was to consolidate the number of control rooms that answer emergency calls in England from 46 to nine, by 2009. As envisaged, the new system would have seen 98% of calls answered within five seconds, exceeding the CFOA's own policy.
Policy areas
The home page of the CFOA's website has a list of current policies and initiatives, with information and press releases attached. Some of the organisation's policy areas are summarised as follows (2006):
* New fire safety laws, (The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2006)
* Department for Communities and Local Government policy on
building regulations
*
London Regional Resilience Forum, policy document on
7 July attacks
* Warning on electric blankets
* Relaxation of air security
*
Home Office document on 7 July attacks
See also
*
Chief Fire and Rescue Adviser
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 ...
*
Fire Service College
The Fire Service College is responsible for providing leadership, management and advanced operational training courses for senior fire officers from the United Kingdom and foreign fire authorities. It is located at Moreton-in-Marsh in Gloucester ...
*
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 ...
*
Women in firefighting
Firefighting has historically been a predominantly male profession throughout the world. However, since the 1970s, women have made inroads in both professional and volunteer fire departments in multiple countries. In modern times, women have served ...
References
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External links
Chief Fire Officers Association
CFOA
CFOA
1974 establishments in the United Kingdom
Organizations established in 1974
Professional associations based in the United Kingdom