Over a career spanning thirty years within Strathclyde Fire and Rescue service, I served in a wide variety of posts including Head of Risk Management, Area Commander and Director of Strategic Planning. I served for 11 years at Board level and from June 2007 to May 2011 I was seconded to the Scottish Government as Deputy to the Chief Inspector of Fire Services for Scotland, within the Scottish Fire and Rescue Advisory Unit (SFRAU). An experienced incident commander I have taken charge of many significant emergency incidents over my career. In particular, I was responsible for setting up and running Strathclyde Fire and Rescue’s Gold Command for the Stockline disaster and formed part of the Scottish Resilience response to the terrorist attack on Glasgow Airport. During my time in SFRAU I was a key advisor to the Scottish Government on Fire and Rescue Service issues during the flu pandemic in 2010 and was involved in co-ordinating the Scottish Fire Service’s response to the fuel crisis in 2007. As Strathclyde’s Director of Strategic Planning I was responsible for the development of the service’s first Integrated Risk Management Plan and was also the architect of its highly successful restructure. I was responsible for the introduction and development of the Service’s Business Continuity Plan, performance and project management frameworks for the organisation and was influential in the establishment of corporate governance within one of the largest fire and rescue services in Europe.
