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Alan Horberry has been appointed Assistant Chief Fire Officer at the Defence Fire Safety Regulator, the body responsible for enforcing fire legislation across the Ministry of Defence estate and assuring the safety and effectiveness of Defence firefighters worldwide. He brings over three decades of UK and international fire and rescue leadership experience to the post.
Alan began his career as a firefighter in 1988 with the Lothian and Borders Fire Brigade in Edinburgh, serving at many city and rural fire stations across south-east Scotland before moving to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service upon its creation in 2013.
In 2020, he joined the NSW Rural Fire Service in Australia managing a vast area of bush and outback NSW with over 6,000 rural firefighters. Latterly he was Director of Emergency Services and Island Security in Falkland Islands where he introduced island wide resilience planning, and an islands specific multi-agency incident command system based upon the JESIP principles.
In early 2025, Alan Horberry took up the role of Assistant Chief Fire Officer at the Defence Fire Safety Regulator (DFSR) as part of the Defence Safety Authority and wider Defence Fire and Rescue Service within the Ministry of Defence.
Alan brings a wealth of global fire and rescue service experiences from strategic thinking and leadership through to his extensive operational incident command where he has led the response to many significant fire and multi-agency incidents in the UK, Australia and the Falkland Islands at all levels up to and including Gold command.
“I’m delighted to have been appointed to this pivotal role within Defence. 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 and those new ones presented to us by Defence Reform and the Strategic Defence Review.”
Alan Horberry, Assistant Chief Fire Officer, Defence Fire Safety Regulator
DFSR has responsibility for enforcing UK fire legislation as it pertains across the Ministry of Defence estate and for providing assurance that Defence has safe and effective firefighters across the globe. DFSR responsibilities are closely aligned to those of the fire inspectorates across the UK.
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