Chief Fire Officer - A Change of Title

A Change of Title

The name of the rank was to be changed to 'Brigade Manager' as part of an on-going modernisation of the fire service in the UK; however, the title was unpopular with most Chief Fire Officers who prefer to retain their traditional titles.

The title brigade manager did not convey the seniority of the Chief Officers Role, or equivalence in stature to a Chief COnstable or Chief Ambulance Officer.

CFOs do occasionally attend major incidents, in December 2005, the CFO of Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, Roy Wilsher, spent a great deal of time at the Buncefield oil storage depot. He also hosted press conferences and was part of the major incident gold command team.

The use of the title 'Chief Executive' or "Brigade Manager" is deprecated by some firefighters who believe that it creates the false impression that the post is a non-uniformed civilian role. Although the title has been adopted to reflect the modern "business approach" of many fire brigades, almost all Chief Fire Officers have progressed from frontline roles through the rank structure

A few brigades have employed civilian Chief Fire Officers. They are given the title Chief Executive to denote that they are not operationally trained firefighters