Dany joined the fire service in London in 1988 being posted first to Wimbledon fire station as a recruit firefighter. Three months later she attended the Clapham rail disaster where 33 people lost their lives. Dany was transferred to Tooting fire station a few years later, and then in 1993, she applied for her first promotion. This move took her to Wandsworth fire station to a notoriously difficult watch. It was a very difficult period in Dany’s career, but she persevered and 18 months later transferred to a different watch at Wandsworth where she was fortunate enough to work with 2 other women firefighters.
Dany moved stations and worked through the ranks becoming the 1st woman station officer in the UK Fire Service in 1998 and then subsequently undertook a number of different roles in boroughs and at HQ.
In March 2012 Dany was promoted to Assistant Commissioner becoming one of the highest ranking woman firefighters in Europe and then as Director for Safety and Assurance in one of the world’s biggest and highest profile Fire Brigade’s, becoming a significant public figure in the sector of emergency services. She has served in many roles and has taken this wealth of experience and knowledge to the upper echelons of Brigade management where she works tirelessly to improve firefighter safety and opportunities for others. Dany is currently the Chair of the WFS (Women in the Fire Service) and strives to develop the considerable talents of those around her.
Dany has attended a number of high profile incidents including Clapham train crash a few months after leaving training school, the Cutty Sark fire in 2007, she was in charge of a 40 pump fire on the day of the Olympic closing ceremony and since taking charge of the London Fire Brigade as Commissioner she has led the Brigade during major incidents including the terrorist attacks at London Bridge and Finsbury Park and the tragic fire at Grenfell Tower.
Dany was appointed as the first woman Commissioner in January 2017 to lead the London Fire Brigade in its 153 year history.
Dany was ‘Public Servant of the Year’ in 2002 and was the first woman to be awarded the Queen's Fire Service medal in January 2004, voted among the most influential women in London in 2011 and won the ‘First Women Award’ in the Public Sector category in 2014 and ‘Most Influential Woman in Fire’ award in 2015.
Dany regularly gives interviews regarding public safety and about her role as a senior female representative of the Fire Service. She has built an extensive online portfolio of interviews to Reuters, Sky TV and numerous National Television outlets as well as representing the Brigade in smaller online interviews and in the print media.
Dany’s efforts have been recognized internationally, being added as the only non-American entry in ABC’s “Twelve Amazing Female Firefighters” in 2011 and she has worked closely with Brigades around the world to further our understanding of fire behaviour. She regularly represents the LFB at national and international events and strives to promote opportunities for women in the fire service. Notably she delivered the keynote address to the Fire Safety Asia Conference in Singapore, representing national interests in front of 1200 high level international delegates from across Asia.