Former British Army officer and firefighter
Andrew Dudley Roe KFSM (born July 1974[1]) is a former British Army officer and firefighter currently serving as the Commissioner of the London Fire Brigade.[2]
Early life and education
Andy Roe grew up in London and graduated from Newcastle University in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts in English literature.[citation needed]
Career
In 1997, Roe was commissioned from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and joined the 12th Regiment Royal Artillery as a second lieutenant.[3] During his time as an officer, he served as a troop commander and a battery captain and served two tours in Northern Ireland.[4] During his time in Northern Ireland, he was wounded when a pipe bomb was thrown at him, which also severely injured an RUC officer stood next to Roe.[5] The officer died after spending four weeks on a life support machine. As a captain, he transferred his commission to the Army reserve in April 2000.[6]
In 2002, Roe joined the London Fire Brigade as a firefighter[7] and in January 2017 was appointed as Assistant Commissioner.[8]
During the Grenfell Tower fire, Roe was appointed incident commander where he revoked the controversial 'stay put' advice to the residents.[9] As the first commissioner appointed since the fire, Roe issued a plea to the residents of London's 7000 high rise blocks to set aside any 'post-Grenfell doubts continue to follow firefighters’ advice in the event of a blaze.'[10]
On 28 January 2020, Roe became the first LFB commissioner to sign the Armed Forces Covenant with the British Armed Forces.[11]
Roe was awarded the King's Fire Service Medal (KFSM) in the 2024 New Year Honours.[12]
