Dany Cotton
Danielle Amara Cotton , QFSM (born June 11, 1969 , nickname Dany Cotton ) is a retired British professional firefighter. From January 2017 to December 2019 she was the commissioner of the London Fire Brigade (LFB), the professional fire brigade of the capital London .
Professional career
Dany Cotton joined the London Fire Brigade in 1988 at the age of 18 and began her training as a firefighter at the Southwark Training Center . Later Cotton became the first female director of a fire station ( Station Officer ) in the history of the London Fire Brigade and rose further to one of the three directors of LFB (second management level below the authorities conductor). In this role she was responsible for managing the Safety and Assurance division.
In 2004, Cotton became the first woman to be awarded the Queen's Fire Service Medal (QFSM) and was named one of the most influential women in London in 2011. On August 12, 2012, she led the large-scale operation of the London fire brigade in the fire of a recycling center in the Dagenham district , the largest fire brigade operation in London since the 1970s with around 40 emergency vehicles and over 200 firefighters.
In September 2016, Dany Cotton was appointed interim commissioner (acting head) to succeed Ron Dobson with effect from January 1, 2017 . In 2017, Mayor Sadiq Khan appointed her head of agency, the Commissioner for Fire and Emergency Planning .
The turning point in her career was the use of the LFB in the major fire of Grenfell Tower in the London borough of North Kensington on June 14, 2017. After that, she was criticized from circles of survivors and bereaved families. She strongly defended the LFB approach.
Cotton announced that it will retire after 32 years of service for the first half of 2020. After the publication of an investigation report on the operation in Grenfell Tower and renewed calls for resignation, she lost the support of Sadiq Khan in December 2019. She preferred her retirement date. The previous deputy Andy Roe became the official successor in January 2020.
Awards
The following awards were given to Dany Cotton (with the year of award, listed in order).
-
en: Queen's Fire Service Medal (2004) -
Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002) -
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012) -
en: Fire Brigade Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (2008)
Web links
- Dany Cotton, London's fire brigade chief, on her night at Grenfell. The Times Saturdaynight interview of June 24, 2017 (not available free of charge)
- London fire brigade boss: 'It was a massive risk, but it's our job to go in' The Observer on June 17, 2017
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Fire Fighter - Dany Cotton was one of the first women in the London Fire Department. The disaster in the skyscraper ... FAZ from June 15, 2016
- ^ London Fire Brigade - Senior management team. (No longer available online.) London Fire Brigade, archived from the original on August 13, 2017 ; accessed on June 30, 2017 (English).
- ^ Dany Cotton: London Fire Brigade chief to quit early . In: BBC , December 6, 2019.
- ^ Robert Booth: London fire chief Dany Cotton resigns after Grenfell criticism. Guardian News & Media Limited, December 6, 2019, archived from the original on December 6, 2019 ; accessed on January 12, 2020 (English).
- ↑ Andy Roe, Commissioner. London Fire Brigade, accessed January 12, 2020 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Cotton, Dany |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Amara, Danielle Amara (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British firefighter, head of the London Fire Brigade, LFB |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 11, 1969 |