Greater Manchester Fire Service to get 'new beginning'

Jim Wallace will take up the role of Chief Fire Officer in September

A new chief fire officer has been appointed for Greater Manchester amid a raft of changes to the area's fire service following the Kerslake Report.

The report in March criticised the fire service's response after the Manchester Arena attack in May 2017.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said the appointment of Jim Wallace was part of a "new beginning" that follows "a 'root and branch' review".

The changes were aimed at putting "the front line first", he added.

They include a recruitment drive to reduce the number of front-line vacancies, refurbishment work at some stations to improve facilities for female firefighters and new "family-friendly shift patterns", a spokesman for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) said.

Mr Burnham said firefighters should be "proud" of their work on the recent moor fires

Mr Burnham said he had visited front-line staff and it had become "clear some changes are required quickly and a new beginning is needed".

"The Kerslake Review included some strong recommendations for GMFRS and it has undoubtedly been a difficult time", the mayor said.

"But it has responded in the right way and turned a corner in recent weeks.

"In particular, the dedication and commitment shown tackling the major moorland fires is something of which GMFRS and its firefighters should be incredibly proud."

He added that he wanted to "build a modern fire service that gets the best out of people and always puts the front line first".

Mr Wallace, who transformed the fire service in Northern Ireland and helped create a unified service in Scotland, said he was "delighted" to take up the role.

He replaces Dawn Docx, who had acted as interim chief since the retirement of Peter O'Reilly.