This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Cheshire fire chief to be new HM Chief Inspector of Fire Services for Scotland
11/02/1999
The Secretary of State is to recommend to Her Majesty the Queen that Mr Dennis Davis (52), currently Chief Fire Officer with Cheshire Fire Authority, should be appointed HM Chief Inspector of Fire Services for Scotland in succession to Mr Neil Morrison who will retire from the post in April this year.
Mr Davis OBE, OstJ, QFSM, C Eng, CIMgt, FFireE, MInstE will take up appointment in May.
He was born in Walsall and educated at Queen Mary's Grammar School, Walsall. He became a Firefighter at the age of 18 with Walsall County Borough Council where he progressed to Sub-Officer level. He joined Cheshire Fire Brigade as a Station Officer in 1971 and moved through the ranks to become Deputy Chief Officer in 1983. He has held his current appointment as Chief Fire Officer with Cheshire Fire Authority since 1986.
Mr Davis is a past President of the Institution of Fire Engineers and current Management Committee Chairman. He has also served as President of CACFOA (The Chief and Assistant Chief Fire Officers' Association). He is married with two sons.
BACKGROUND
1. The Chief Inspector of Fire Services for Scotland holds a Royal Warrant from Her Majesty the Queen under the Fire Services Act 1947.
2. The appointment is for three years with the possibility of extension by mutual agreement.
3. The Chief Inspector is directly accountable to the Secretary of State for Scotland (in due course this will be to the Scottish Executive) and is his senior professional adviser on fire matters, presenting an annual report to the Secretary of State, which is presented to Parliament and published. He leads HM Inspectorate of Fire Services, the central task of which is to carry out inspections of fire brigades in Scotland as well as providing expert assistance in the development of policy and in the preparation of legislation. The Inspectorate also plays a key part in the promotion of common standards throughout brigades and in the formulation of advice to fire authorities through the machinery of the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Councils. The Chief Inspector is responsible for ensuring that the resources made available to the Inspectorate are used in the most efficient and cost effective manner.
4. The post is full-time and the salary is about £80,000. HM Inspectorate of Fire Services is based in Saughton House, Edinburgh.
News Release: 0303/99
11 February 1999