Competition for Chair of Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue (NIFRS)

March 18, 2023

The Department of Health is seeking to appoint a Non-Executive Chair to the Northern Ireland Fire & Rescue Service (NIFRS).

The Board of NIFRS comprises the Chief Fire and Rescue Officer, a Non-Executive Chair and 10 other Non-Executive Members appointed by the Department.

Peter May, Permanent Secretary at the Department of Health, said: “The role of NIFRS Chair is both challenging and rewarding. This is an exceptional opportunity for a person with effective leadership skills to share their talents and expertise to make a positive difference to the lives of people in Northern Ireland.

NIFRS protects and serves the entire population of NI, an area of over 5,500 square miles providing them with a range of fire and rescue services. Under the 2006 Order, the Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010, and the Fire and Rescue Services (Emergencies) Order (Northern Ireland) 2011, NIFRS responds to fires, road traffic collisions and other emergencies including chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear incidents, search and rescue incidents, serious flooding and serious transport incidents.

A range of community engagement initiatives are provided to help reduce risk and keep people safe from the dangers of fire and other types of incidents that we respond to. The organisation has a dedicated Regional Control Centre where all the Fire 999 calls for NI are answered and Fire Crews mobilised to respond. NIFRS has 68 Fire Stations across NI utilising a variety of crewing models using Whole-time, On-Call and Volunteer Firefighters.

The deadline for receipt of applications is 12:00 noon BST Friday 31 March 2023. Late applications will not be accepted.

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