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Two new Chief Fire Officers are now in place in the North East as part of some wider leadership changes affecting Tyne and Wear, Northumberland and County Durham and Darlington.
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service CFO Peter Heath retired after a 33+ year career in the fire and rescue service leaving the top job to be filled by his deputy Stewart Nicholson. Writing on his farewell post on LinkedIn, he said Stewart had been an outstanding deputy, adding he was not sure what the next chapter would bring and thanked those who supported and guided him over the years.
The changes see Lynsey McVay return to her home service of TWFRS to take up the role of Deputy Chief to Stewart Nicholson, after a period which saw her as interim Chief Officer of Northumberland. She took over on at temporary basis last year after the previous chief and deputy were suspended following the outcome of an independent cultural review.
Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service now has a substantive Chief Fire Officer as Keith Carruthers takes on the role. He was the Deputy Chief Fire Officer of County Durham and Darlington. As a result, the service’s Director of Emergency Response, Rob Cherrie has stepped into the role vacated by Keith Carruthers.
Looking ahead, in October, DCFO Niall McKiniry will step up to the top role in Humberside when current CFO Phil Shillito retires.
Read more about the work of the emergency services in the North East as Peter Heath and Stewart Nicholson talk to Catherine Levin about Exercise Cerberus – North East major incident exercise is an award winner with JESIP at its heart.
