Alan Horberry appointed Assistant Chief Fire Officer at Defence Fire Safety Regulator

Photograph: Defence Safety Authority

As reported by the Emergency Services Times (which is published by Nineteen Group), Horberry brings over three decades of UK and international Fire and Rescue leadership experience to the role.

Horberry began his career as a firefighter in 1988 with the Lothian and Borders Fire Brigade in Edinburgh, serving at several city and rural fire stations across South East Scotland before moving to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service when it was created in 2013.

In 2020, Horberry joined the NSW Rural Fire Service in Australia, managing over 6,000 rural firefighters. He has also served as director of Emergency Services and island security in the Falkland Islands where he introduced island-wide resilience planning, as well as an islands-specific multi-agency incident command system based upon the JESIP principles.

“I’m delighted to have been appointed to this pivotal role,” stated Horberry. “The assurance of defence fire, in all its facets, is of critical national importance. I’m proud to lead the team of experienced defence fire officers to ensure that we meet the challenges of today, as well as new ones presented to us by defence reform and the Strategic Defence Review.”

Regulatory direction

Part of the Defence Safety Authority, the Defence Fire Safety Regulator provides regulatory direction and enforces UK fire legislation to ensure the Ministry of Defence achieves and maintains safe operating environments across the defence domain.

The organisation’s scope extends to the UK (including Northern Ireland) and military locations overseas, while the team crosses boundaries into aerodrome rescue firefighting, structural firefighting, major accident control regulations and military aviation activity.

The Defence Fire Safety Regulator has two disciplines:

*Fire and Rescue (oversight and assurance): regulates the Fire and Rescue Services across defence in accordance with the Secretary of State for Defence’s health, safety and environment protection policy

*Fire Safety: the organisation’s statutory fire safety duties fall into two provisions of the relevant legislation: ensure and assure that the requirement to look after general fire precautions are taken forward by the ‘Responsible Person’ and the duty to consult with the Defence Fire Safety Regulator as the fire safety enforcing authority in relation to proposed building works