Role Structure in the British Fire Service

This content was written in 2011 and may be outdated.

Insignia worn in the British Fire and Rescue Service

At the turn of the century the Fire Brigade was a branch of the the Police Force (thus fire bobby) and the rank structure was that of police. When the Fire Service was made independent of the police a new rank structure and markings was designed for the uniform which was revamped in 1960’s. Now there are numerous styles used but the insignia remains constant. There are basically two uniforms worn by a firefighters, a working or undress uniform and a fire tunic.

Originally all uniforms had epaulettes and this is were the rank marking were worn. The rank markings are made of chrome metal or embroidery on navy blue material. They now can be worn on the epaulettes or the collar. They consist of 12.5mm and 3mm bars, large and small impellers [they are not pips] and laurel wreaths, these are used in different configurations.

The original fire tunic was based on a lancer uniform with epaulettes and the rank marking based on cavalry insignia. It consisted of 12.5mm bars, horseshoes, straps and different thickness of chain mail. In the 1960’s this was changed and the undress uniform insignia was used on fire tunics. When the latest type of tunic was introduced it had no epaulettes consequently cloth ranks markings were used so you did not need to puncture the water proof material. [This was also because of health and safety considerations]. Fire and Rescue Services now fix the rank markings to the collar of their uniforms except were formal undress uniforms are used and then they use the epaulettes.

Ranks structure has been superseded by a role based structure which means the marking you see worn by fire officers has been modified.

Role	Abbreviation	Role collar markings		Helmet
Firefighter	Ff	None		Yellow helmet, no markings
Crew Manager	CM			Yellow helmet, two 12.5mm black bands
Watch Manager	WM			White helmet with black comb 12.5mm black band
Station Manager	SM			White Helmet with black comb 19mm black band
Group Manager	GM			White Helmet with black comb 19mm & 12.5mm black bands
Area Manager	AM			White Helmet with black comb two 19mm black bands
Brigade Manager	BM	Brigade manager		White Helmet with black comb 38mm black band
		Deputy brigade manager
		Assistant brigade manager

The Old Fire Service Rank Markings.

Role	Abbreviation	Responsibilities	Rank markings	Helmet
Firefighter	Ff	General station Duties		Yellow helmet, no markings
Leading firefighter	Lff	Officer in charge of an appliance		Yellow helmet, 12mm black band
Sub officer	SubO	Officer in charge of a watch or deputy officer in charge of a watch		Yellow helmet, two 12mm black bands
Station Officer	StnO	Officer in charge of a watch or station commander		White helmet with black comb 12mm black band
Assistant Divisional Officer	ADO	Station commander or staff duties		White helmet with black comb 18mm black band
Divisional Officer (Grades I II III)	DO	Command Officers		White helmet with black comb 18mm & 12mm black bands
Senior Divisional Officer	SDO	Commander, Functional and Division		White Helmet with black comb 18mm & 12mm black bands
Assistant Chief Fire Officer	ACFO	Assistant to the CFO		White helmet with black comb two 18mm black bands
Deputy Chief Fire Officer	DCFO	Assistant to the CFO and deputize in his absence		White helmet with black comb two 18mm black bands
Chief Fire Officer	CFO	General Brigade Manager		White helmet with black comb 40mm black band

Categories:Miscellaneous Fire Safety Issues

March 28, 2011[Last updated: July 5, 2022]