"Dear Councillor Goldsmith,
Whenever I have spoken to Cabinet Members about their fire service decisions, I am invariably told, “I am not a firefighter, it is the Chief Fire Officer who is the expert on the fire service, so I must follow his professional advice.” Leaving aside the constraints that Cabinet Members impose on the Chief Fire Officer, that statement seems reasonable.
I am therefore at a loss to understand why the County Council would now consider being advised on fire & rescue service matters by someone who is not an experienced and professional Chief Fire Officer.
Critical decision making
During 15 years in the County Council’s Emergency Planning Unit, I witnessed several competent WSCC managers struggle to make decisions during emergencies. This was at all levels up to Chief Executive level and ranged from poor decisions to flat refusals to make an urgent decision when it mattered. This was not because they were poor managers, but because there is a stark difference between making day to day decisions and making critical emergency decisions. When making day to day decisions in a calm office environment, others can be consulted, research carried out, advice sought, reports reviewed, and option papers considered. All of which will help a competent manager to reach a sensible decision.
However, that is a World away from having to make a critical decision at 3 am, in an unfamiliar location, with limited and sometimes confused information, with no one available to consult and everyone around you expecting an immediate decision. Even the best managers, who are not used to such decision making, can fail under such pressure. Yet no one can predict who will, and who won’t fail, until the situation arises.
Whilst none of those decisions were life and death decisions, the failures did undermine the effectiveness of the emergency response. Put a Chief Fire Officer, without experience, in those situations and lives could well be lost. For the County Council to even consider appointing a Chief Fire Officer, who might fail when life critical decisions are required, seems to be a serious folly.
Throughout their service firefighters are trained to quickly make critical decisions when they only have limited and confused information. By the time a firefighter has reached higher management levels, they will have honed those skills and gained invaluable practical experience over many years. They will also have developed, through training and practice, the broader management and financial skills necessary for the role of Chief Fire Officer.
To be effective a Chief Fire Officer must also understand the roles, responsibilities and methods of operation of all the emergency services, and of the many other organisations that are involved in complex emergencies. Effective joint working, especially at major incidents, also depends on an in-depth knowledge of inter-agency plans and procedures, reinforced with extensive inter-agency training and practical experience.
Such knowledge, skills and experience can only be acquired by serving in the fire & rescue service for many years.
Non-critical decision making
Management consultants may claim this is where fire service knowledge, training and experience is not necessary. The fundamental flaw in that thinking is that all non-critical decisions ultimately have an impact on the effectiveness of the service’s prevention and response activities. Understanding how decisions will affect the service’s ability to prevent and respond to emergencies is vital in ensuring the right decisions are made. There is no better way of understanding the hazards and challenges facing firefighters, than having been in that situation yourself. That experience also makes day to day decisions on procedures, resources, staffing, training etc fully informed.
It may be suggested that a Chief Fire Officer, without fire service experience, can rely on a Deputy Chief who has that experience. Not only does that result in the Deputy Chief being the de facto Chief Fire Officer, whilst being paid less, it also results in the Chief Fire Officer being no more than a rubber stamp for the Deputy's decisions. An added danger is that, if a Deputy Chief in that position provides poor advice, either deliberately or inadvertently, the Chief Fire Officer will not have the knowledge, training or experience to recognise it. There is also the danger that a Chief Fire Officer without fire service experience may not wish to be seen to always follow a Deputy’s advice and, in an effort to assert their authority, may ignore it. Failing to listen to professional advice could then have serious consequences.
Confidence
It is essential that staff in the fire & rescue service, WSCC Directors, heads of partner agencies, and the public have confidence that the Chief Fire Officer has the necessary fire & rescue service knowledge, training and experience. Without that confidence the opinions and decisions of the Chief Fire Officer will not be trusted and that will quickly undermine respect for the service and the Council.
The few fire authorities that have been foolish enough to experiment with a head of service shipped in from outside the fire & rescue service have seen confidence decline. None of those experiments has proven successful, with only those who took the decision to appoint such a person, and the person themselves, claiming otherwise.
There are enough challenges in running a modern fire & rescue service without adding the challenge of having no fire & rescue service experience. Residents and firefighters deserve a Chief Fire Officer who has had a career’s worth of training, knowledge and experience in the fire & rescue service.
I trust that you will ensure that a Chief Fire Officer with considerable experience of the fire & rescue service is appointed to protect West Sussex residents.
Yours sincerely,
Tony Morris"
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