A temporary chief fire officer has been appointed to lead Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service.
Recruitment for a permanent chief fire officer will take place soon.
Ben joined Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service in 2001 having previously served in the Royal Air Force Fire & Rescue Service.
He served across several stations as a firefighter, crew and watch manager before being promoted to station manager in 2008.
He was promoted to group manager in 2014 serving as the district commander for Liverpool before moving onto a role in prevention.
In 2020/21 Ben led the largest capital project Merseyside has ever undertaken developing a new training and development centre and national resilience centre of excellence.
Ben was then promoted to area manager response and has extensive operational experience commanding some of the most high-profile major incidents in recent memory.
He joined Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service in July last year and was named chair of the Local Resilience Forum.
He said he was looking forward to his family completing the move to Penrith and his children starting their new schools in September.
He said: “It’s a real privilege to lead the service and I’m honoured to step into the role.
“Since joining the service, I’ve seen just how passionate our people and teams are about supporting each other in making the community of Cumbria safe and resilient for residents’ businesses and visitors.
“I look forward to working with the police, fire and crime commissioner and his office, our partners, and most importantly supporting all of our staff and volunteers to ensure Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service deliver the best service possible.”
David Allen, Cumbria’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, leads on the recruitment process for the Chief Fire Officer.
He said: “Since joining us, Ben has proven himself as a strong and capable leader who understands the needs of the service, staff and residents.
“He will be with leading the organisation to ensure that the service continues to have a strong and stable leadership with support from the senior leadership team, myself and my office until we officially appoint a permanent chief fire officer.
“I will provide updates to staff and the public around the chief fire officer recruitment in due course.”
