After a 33-year career as a firefighter, Chief Fire Officer Darren Dovey had planned to retire last month but has chosen to return to his role in leading and improving the county’s Fire and Rescue Service.
Chief Fire Officer Darren Dovey
Northamptonshire PFCC Stephen Mold asked Darren to continue to steer Northamptonshire’s Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) during this crucial time as the service responds to the ongoing pandemic and begins its performance improvement plan.
PFCC Stephen Mold said: “I believe that the county’s fire service needs continuity and Darren will ensure that the NFRS is able to continue to improve on the fantastic contribution it has made throughout the uncertainty of the pandemic and beyond.
“Darren and his team have turned around the performance of NFRS in the last year, making major improvements to the service the public receive.”
Darren was appointed Chief Fire Officer on 1 July 2016. He was born in London but has lived in Northampton since the age of 7, growing up and going to school in the Thorplands area. He joined Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue in 1987 and transferred to London Fire Brigade in 1999, moving to Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service in 2008 as an area manager. During his career he worked on the fire at Windsor Castle and was at Russell Square as part of the response to the 07/07 bombings in London. In 2005, he was press liaison officer at the scene of a fatal house fire in Stoke Newington in which three people died.
Darren said: “I postponed my retirement so that I could see NFRS through the change of governance and use the opportunity this gave us to invest in the service and push forward with improvements for the first time in many years.
“Thanks to the hard work of every member of the team, NFRS is providing an even better service and I am confident that we are on our way towards excellence. The next challenge will be to make better use of technology and share more buildings and support services with Northamptonshire Police.”