Belper man climbs to the top of the Service

David Marley meets Gavin Tomlinson – the first Derbyshire-born firefighter in living memory to have risen through every rank of the county’s Fire and Rescue Service to become its new chief fire officer

Running the county’s fire and rescue service today could not be any more different from my days as a trainee firefighter in the early 1990s,’ smiles Derbyshire’s newly appointed chief fire officer, Gavin Tomlinson. In accepting his appointment last September – almost 26 years to the day after his first shift – he has become the first officer in living memory to have served the organisation on every rung of the ladder of Derbyshire Fire and Rescue’s rank structure.

‘I am so privileged to have been asked by the Fire Authority Brigade Managers’ Appointment Panel to lead Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service. Having spent my entire career with the organisation I am really looking forward to devoting all my energy into protecting our communities and providing a first-class service to everyone living and working in the county,’ he says.

Gavin is in reflective mood when we meet in his uber-modern office on the top floor of the new state-of-the-art headquarters building in Ripley. ‘To be given the opportunity to climb every rank of the Service is a unique achievement for an ordinary lad from Belper – especially for someone who left school with just four O-levels,’ he reflects with pride. ‘For me it just goes to demonstrate that it is possible for a normal person from a normal background who went to a normal school to be successful – and for that I will always be very grateful for the opportunities I have had,’ he says.

Gavin’s promotion to the top of the command tree comes with an additional accolade: he is also the organisation’s chief executive officer, with responsibility for managing a multi-million-pound budget and the activities of hundreds of specialist firefighters and support staff.