Firefighters formed a guard of honour today outside the London Fire Brigade’s headquarters to mark the retirement of Commissioner Dany Cotton.
The chief is stepping down with a £2million pension pot earlier than expected in the wake of criticism over the service’s response to the Grenfell Tower fire in July 2017.
She had been facing pressure to resign from bereaved families and survivors of the blaze in North Kensington, West London, following a critical public inquiry report.
Crowds of firefighters lined the street outside the LFB’s headquarters at 169 Union Street in Southwark to form a guard of honour for Miss Cotton this afternoon
London Fire Brigade Commissioner Dany Cotton waves to firefighters on her last day in office
The capital’s first female fire chief had been due to retire in April 2020 after 32 years of service
The capital’s first female fire chief, who took the top job in January 2017 after joining the LFB in 1988, had been due to retire in April 2020 after 32 years of service.
Crowds of firefighters lined the street outside the LFB’s headquarters at 169 Union Street in Southwark this afternoon to form a guard of honour for the 50-year-old.
She emerged from the building to the sound of bagpipes, after a two-minute silence which took place in solidity with Australian fighters battling bushfires.
Miss Cotton was applauded and cheered as she came out of the office on her final day of the job, saying ‘thank you’ to gathered emergency service workers.
Firefighters today gathered outside the London Fire Brigade’s headquarters to mark the retirement of Dany Cotton (second left), with one group holding a sign saying: ‘We are Dany’
Miss Cotton emerged from the building in London today to the sound of bagpipes, after a two-minute silence which took place in solidity with Australian fighters battling bushfires
LFB Commissioner Dany Cotton (right) is greeted by members of the brigade this afternoon
She also stroked a service dog as she spoke to colleagues and received gifts, with one group posing for a photograph with her holding a sign saying: ‘We are Dany’.
A Facebook group called Save the UK Fire Service had called for firefighters from across the UK to gather in or out of uniform to send Miss Cotton off with a ‘show of support’.
It also suggested that crews who could not make it to London could parade outside their own fire stations.
An image it posted earlier this month said: ‘This is a non-political event, just a gathering of colleagues, families and friends who would like to express their respect for her.
Outgoing LFB Commissioner Miss Cotton is greeted by a dog today on her last day in office
Miss Cotton is embraced by a member of the LFB on on her last day in office this afternoon
‘Her fire family would like to communicate their support to Dany in light of her early retirement.
‘Dany remains a pillar of spirit to her colleagues and a competent leader. She will be greatly missed in her position of Fire Commissioner.’
The first report from the Grenfell inquiry found that the LFB’s preparation for a tower block fire such as Grenfell was ‘gravely inadequate’ and its lack of an evacuation plan was a ‘major omission’.
Inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick said more lives could have been saved in the June 2017 fire had the policy of ‘stay-put’ been abandoned sooner.
Firefighters on Union Street in listen to LFB Commissioner Miss Cotton make a speech today
Firefighters and children line Union Street in London this afternoon to form a guard of honour
Firefighters speak to each other as they gather on Union Street in London for her retirement
The LFB said that following consultation with City Hall, it had been agreed that Miss Cotton will bring forward her retirement to the end of this year ‘to enable a timely handover’ to the next commissioner.
Miss Cotton had resisted calls to resign from families and survivors of the tower block blaze, in which 72 people were killed.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan is understood to have felt compelled to act after a delegation of families went to City Hall to call for Miss Cotton to go.
Mr Khan was said to be concerned that the brigade was at risk of losing Londoners’ trust.
The fire at Grenfell Tower in North Kensington, West London, killed 72 people in June 2017
Firefighters gather at the building after the fire engulfed it in the early hours of June 14, 2017
The news of Miss Cotton’s departure earlier this month was welcomed by survivors’ group Grenfell United, which said it would help to ‘keep Londoners safe’.
And Nabil Choucair, who lost six members of his family in the fire, said Miss Cotton should have stepped down earlier.
He said: ‘If she cared and understood, she would have done it a long time ago. It should not have taken this long, it’s a disgrace.’
Flora Neda, whose husband was killed, said it was a ‘step forward’ in the families’ fight for justice, adding: ‘It makes us feel not quite as hopeless.’
A team of exhausted firefighters rest at the scene of the blaze in North Kensington in June 2017
Rukayet Mamudu (left), 71, who survived the fire after carrying her son Tyrshondre (also left), 12, and Nabil Choucair (right), who lost six relatives in the fire, have both criticised Miss Cotton
A representative of the Grenfell Next of Kin group said they had met with Mr Khan last month and thanked him for ‘hearing our voices’.
In October, Grenfell Inquiry chairman Sir Martin Moore-Bick found LFB’s preparedness for a tower block fire was ‘gravely inadequate’ and said more lives could have been saved if the controversial ‘stay put’ policy had been abandoned earlier.
Miss Cotton also faced personal criticism for her ‘remarkable insensitivity’ during her evidence to the inquiry, when she said she would not have changed the fire brigade’s response to the fire.
She has since expressed regret for her comments, and said senior officers would review the inquiry’s recommendations ‘carefully and fully’.
A graphic showing the people who died on the 23 floors of Grenfell Tower in June 2017
But she vowed to stay on, arguing she wanted to ‘continue to protect the people of London’.
The Fire Brigades Union has said it was wrong to ‘scapegoat’ firefighters.
Earlier this month, Conservative hopeful and former fire service minister Sir Mike Penning, who was a firefighter before he entered politics, backed calls for Miss Cotton to resign over her ‘blind’ handling of the disaster.
Commenting on her retirement, Miss Cotton said she felt ‘proud’ and ‘honoured’ to have served London and to have stood ‘shoulder to shoulder’ with firefighters during her career.
She said: ‘I will never forget tragedies like the Clapham Junction rail disaster or the acts of terrorism that we have faced, but Grenfell Tower was without doubt the worst fire we had ever experienced.’
She will be replaced by Andy Roe who takes up the position on January 1 and has served with the LFB since 2002.