This article needs to be updated.(October 2020) |
The Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) is the professional body representing senior fire officers in the United Kingdom. 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 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. " [1]
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, 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 on issues such policy, training, legislative, and fire safety issues.
As one example of setting policy, the CFOA was involved in the planning process for response times for the now-abandoned FiReControl project. [2] 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.
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):
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Chief fire officer (CFO), formerly often just chief officer or county fire 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 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.
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 from the local public for emergency assistance via the 999 system. A new radio network – FireLink – is being developed and built that will be compatible with FiReControl.
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The 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as part of the Queen's Official Birthday celebrations during the month of June. The Queen's Birthday Honours were announced on 6 June 2016 in New Zealand and 10 June in the United Kingdom.
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