London Fire Brigade’s Deputy Commissioner Dom Ellis has retired after 35 years‘ exemplary service to the capital.
During his long career with the Brigade that has spanned more than three decades, Dom has been involved in some of the most high-profile incidents on the ground, such as the ‘Stop the City’ protests, the Grenfell Tower fire, London terrorist attacks and the 2022 wildfires.
Aged 20, Dom first joined London Fire Brigade in February 1989, starting his training kitted out in a cork helmet, woollen tunic and the iconic yellow plastic trousers.
“I came into firefighting just to give it a couple of years and to see how it would go. My grandfather was in the fire service, so there was some family history and it had always been in the back of my mind as a job option” he said.
Those couple of years would prove to be springboard for a lifetime career in the sector as Dom’s passion for service shone through; of which he recognises so much has changed since he started.
“When you were training up back then, you didn’t see a fire, you didn’t train on one. The first fire I attended was in Erith where people were reported to be inside. Nowadays, trainees have access to so much more to help prepare them for real-life incidents” Dom says.
Image: Dom, circled in red, at training school in 1989
Dom’s spell in stations began in Erith before a move to Knightsbridge Fire Station. After five years as a firefighter learning his trade, Dom started the promotion trail serving through the ranks at Paddington, Hammersmith, Whitechapel, Dowgate, and Shoreditch before becoming a Station Officer at Tottenham Fire Station.
Shortly after being appointed as Station Commander at Battersea Fire Station, Dom was part of a contingent that flew across to Texas for some important training around Urban Search and Rescue.
“It was tough training for a couple of weeks that had been prompted by the 9/11 terror attacks. We were going out to learn from these disasters because these attacks opened our eyes to the potential scale and complexity of terrorist attacks like this.”
Dom continued to climb the ranks, serving as a Staff Officer to former Deputy Commissioner Roy Bishop OBE, followed by time spent in training and development, Strategy and Risk and as Area Commander for the North East area of London.
Image: Dom, circled in red, when he was Station Officer in Tottenham
His first role as an Assistant Commissioner was in charge of Technical and Service Support which included the Brigade’s property function. In this role Dom oversaw the development of 11 new fire stations; an impressive scale of transformation for what was an ageing estate. Dom then moved across to head up fire stations, responsible for the Brigade’s operational front line, 103 fire stations and around 4,700 firefighters.
During his service, Dom has played a key role in many crucial changes to the Brigade’s operational policies and equipment, from overhauling the response to high-rise firefighting and helping the Brigade prepare for wildfires following the record-breaking temperatures in the summer of 2022.
This transformation has allowed the Brigade to better serve the communities of London and adapt to the changing built environment. Dom has also been leading change around our response to the impact of climate change along with other emerging risks, such as lithium batteries for e-bike and e-scooters, which have become London’s fastest-growing fire risk.
Recalling the unprecedented weather in the summer of July 2022, Dom, who was the senior officer in attendance at a major wildfire in Dagenham, said: “I’d never seen flames spread so quickly over such a large area, jumping across roads and then destroying whole rows of houses. This was the first time that wildfires had affected London to this scale and severity. At the same time the year before we had experienced heavy rainfall and major flooding across London, so these incidents have made it crystal clear to London’s emergency responders and resilience communities that responding to climate change is going to be the number one challenge for all of us for the foreseeable future.
“We’ve introduced new kit and training to improve our response to wildfires. The Brigade will work hard to prevent these fire occurring in the first place. Local borough management teams and fire station crews will work with landowners to identify areas of high fuel loading in fields and open land that may need to be cut back and establish whether fire breaks need to be introduced to prevent fire spread to nearby buildings.”
Dom has also led on the LFB’s current #ChargeSafe campaign which calls for action to stop dangerous lithium battery powered e-bike and e-scooter products reaching the marketplace. These have been causing the fastest increase in fires, including many fatalities and life changing injuries across London and the UK.
Among many notable incidents Dom also attended the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017. He has since played an integral role in the Brigade’s response to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry (GTI) and the first HMICFRS inspection in 2019. He has driven key aspects of LFB’s response to the first phase of the GTI recommendations, which have all been completed, including implementing industry-leading improvements in our high-rise firefighting and Fire Survival Guidance policies.
More recently, his responsibilities have included the roll out of new and more powerful personal radios that futureproof the Brigade towards digital capability; a fleet of state-of-the-art Command Units, training packages and new equipment including new breathing apparatus with improved radio communications which will further enhance firefighter safety.
Dom said: "It has been my main focus since the tragic fire, to drive extensive improvements to the operational training provision for London’s excellent firefighters. Improvements that will, and have, ensured that our communities and firefighters will be kept safe when the next major incidents occur. But there is also so much still to do to protect Londoners; it's unacceptable that there are still around 1,250 high-rises requiring remediation, so I would take this opportunity to implore building owners and managers to do the right thing, get the cladding off, fix serious deficiencies and ensure your residents are safe."
Looking back on his career, Dom says: “I’m so proud to have been a part of a team of people that just want to do their best for the communities in London. I have never failed to take absolute pride from an organisation full of people that, if necessary, are prepared to put their lives on the line in the service of others. I think that is a truly admirable.”
Image: Dom pictured with Commissioner Andy Roe
London Fire Commissioner Andy Roe said: “I would like to personally thank Deputy Commissioner Dom Ellis for the support that he has always provided me, and his 35 years’ exemplary service to London. He has played his own part in the Brigade’s rich history and leaves with many significant achievements. I wish him well in his retirement as he looks forward to spending more time with his family and focusing on other projects.”