Her Majesty's Fire Service Inspectorate for Scotland or HM Fire Service Inspectorate is an autonomous agency of the Scottish Government which functions to provide independent, risk based and proportionate professional inspection of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The inspectorate, also known simply as HMFSI, is not a firefighting body.
The HMFSI can enquire into any matter concerning the operation of a fire and rescue service, with their powers originally set out in section 43B of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005. Their role was substantially amended by the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 that came into effect on 1 April 2013. The inspectorate is based in St Andrew's House, Edinburgh. The current HMFSI Chief Inspector is Martyn Emberson. It is general practice for Chief Inspectors to have previously served as Firemaster or Chief Fire Officer (CFO) - Emberson is a former CFO of Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service. He holds the Queen's Fire Service Medal.
HMFSI's remit
The HMFSI's main responsibilities include the following: