Leslie Leete

Leslie William Thomas Leete CBE QFSM (18 December 1909[1] – 31 August 1976) was an English firefighter who became chief fire officer of the London Fire Brigade from 1962 to 1970[2][3] – the first LFB chief to have served in every rank within the Brigade.

[6] Delve and Leete proposed control procedures that eventually became national policy, and also recommended the fitting of warning devices to breathing apparatus so that users were alerted when their oxygen supplies were running low.

[6] As chief fire officer from 1962 to 1970,[2][4] Leete introduced several innovations, some driven by improvements in technology, others by the need for change.

[7][8][9] The following year, Leete oversaw the LFB's centenary celebrations, during which the Queen formally opened a new Brigade control room at Lambeth, which at the time was state of the art.

[10] After the June 1969 Leinster Tower Hotel fire in Bayswater, where over 50 people were rescued from the hotel and without any fatalities, Leete issued the first special order, a Commendation, which described the fire as being "without parallel in the Brigade's history for the magnitude of the task... and the excellence of the firefighting work performed.