Man who scrapped disastrous ‘stay put’ advice at Grenfell is appointed London’s new fire chief

Andy Roe has been appointed as the new London Fire Brigade commissioner, the city’s mayor Sadiq Khan said.

It comes after City Hall announced Dany Cotton would be stepping down at the end of this month in the wake of criticism over the brigade’s response to the Grenfell Tower fire.

Mr Roe, who will take up the post on January 1, made the decision to revoke the controversial ‘stay put’ advice minutes after becoming incident commander on the night of the fire.

Pictured: Dany Cotton

Andy Roe (pictured) scrapped the ‘stay put’ policy minutes after becoming incident commander on the night of the fire. Pictured, right, Dany Cotton

The former British Army officer has worked at London Fire Brigade (LFB) since 2002, progressing through the ranks as a firefighter.

Families of the 72 people who died as a result of the blaze have welcomed the appointment. 

A statement from Paulos Tekle, who lost his five-year-old son in the inferno, said: ‘Andy Roe saved lives. That is the job of the fire service. If he did not change the policy we would not be here now. I welcome his appointment and a major overhaul of the London Fire Brigade. 

‘Changes need to be made to make Londoners safe. His order was sensible and the only thing to be done. Even though it was late, he saved some lives. It would have been different if the advice was changed earlier. I wish he had taken command an hour earlier no one would have died.’

The Grenfell Tower fire in North Kensington, West London, in June 2017 left 72 people dead

The Grenfell Tower fire in North Kensington, West London, in June 2017 left 72 people dead

Shemsu Kedir, whose five family members died in the fire, said: ‘We welcome the change of the Fire Commissioner and the new appointment. The mistakes made before must be corrected. 

‘I think we will have a solution to part of the important issues and mistakes made. Because of their mistakes we lost our family. We need a change and these changes need to be made quickly. 

‘We hope the new commissioner will talk to us and make these changes as soon as possible. We thank the Mayor of London for taking swift action not only for us but for the people of London to make London safe. We look forward to working with the New Commissioner so lessons can be learnt and we can move forward.’ 

Mr Roe became assistant commissioner in January 2017 – the position he held on the night of the deadly fire – before being appointed as deputy commissioner for operations last month.

The first report from the Grenfell Inquiry found that the fire service’s preparation for a tower block fire such as Grenfell was ‘gravely inadequate’ and its lack of an evacuation plan was a ‘major omission’.

Inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said more lives could have been saved in the June 2017 fire had the policy of ‘stay put’ been abandoned sooner.

Firefighters gather at the building after the fire engulfed it in the early hours of June 14, 2017

Firefighters gather at the building after the fire engulfed it in the early hours of June 14, 2017

Mr Roe said he would be ‘working tirelessly’ to deliver the recommendations of the report.

‘It is an enormous privilege to be offered this opportunity to lead London Fire Brigade into a new decade,’ he said.

‘My priority is to protect and serve all Londoners and make sure the capital’s fire and rescue service is the very best it can be.

‘We have some real challenges ahead, but I’ll be working tirelessly with the brigade, the mayor and London’s communities to ensure we deliver on the recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry report.

London Fire Brigade Commissioner Dany Cotton at a minute's silence in memory of Grenfell victims in London in June 2017

London Fire Brigade Commissioner Dany Cotton at a minute’s silence in memory of Grenfell victims in London in June 2017

‘I’m looking forward to leading the brigade through a period of transformation and delivering a workforce that truly reflects the diverse city we serve.’

The new fire chief, who had operation command for the Croydon tram crash in 2016, is to lead the production of the next London Safety Plan.

Mr Khan said there were ‘significant lessons’ for the brigade following the critical public inquiry report.

The London mayor said: ‘The Grenfell Tower Inquiry report made it clear there were institutional failures that meant, while firefighters performed with great courage and bravery, the overall response to the disaster was not good enough, and there are significant lessons for London Fire Brigade.

‘I look forward to working with Andy Roe to deliver on the inquiry’s recommendations and to ensure the transformation of the brigade is carried out as effectively and swiftly as possible.’

Ms Cotton, the capital’s first female fire chief, had been due to retire in April 2020 after 32 years of service.

The LFB said that following consultation with City Hall, it had been agreed that Ms Cotton, 50, would bring forward her retirement to the end of this year ‘to enable a timely handover’ to the next commissioner.

She had previously resisted multiple calls for her to resign and welcomed the report’s recommendations, saying they would be ‘carefully and fully’ considered by senior officers.

Commenting on her early retirement, Ms Cotton said she was ‘proud’ and ‘honoured’ to have served London and to have stood ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with fire service staff during her career.