New Hampshire Fire and Rescue chief fire officer ready to tackle the challenges of the job

New chief fire officer Dave Curry has taken the top job at a time when the service needs to plug a £12.2m budget black hole.

With fire station closures and compulsory redundancies ruled out, Mr Curry’s leadership is certain to be a time when working practices will change as the service reacts to financial constraints and a 50 per cent drop in the number of calls it has to deal with.

The new boss has vowed to consult crews over the future of the organisation – and ways to raise extra revenue.

Mr Curry, who took over from John Bonney at the start of the year, wants the 1,800-strong workforce to help shape the future of the organisation.

The 52-year-old father-of-four said: “Our Risk Review project is starting to come up with proposals. Later this year we’ll be outlining options to personnel and asking them what they think is right for their station.

“I’m very keen to allow firefighters to help shape provision. We will listen to them and, where we can, take their views into account.

“I think the number of firefighters will reduce but we’re a financially strong organisation and we do have time. I don’t see any enforced redundancies but there may be voluntary redundancies in three or four years.”

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) is planning to introduce a series of changes, including a wider variety of emergency vehicles.

Smaller appliances are likely to be sent to certain incidents, ensuring that larger ones are always available for bigger emergencies.

A redistribution of staff is likely to take place as a result.

Known throughout the service as The Chief, Mr Curry is currently overseeing a multi-million-pound refurbishment of the organisation’s headquarters at Leigh Road, Eastleigh. The former school is about to be converted into a joint base for the fire service and Hampshire Constabulary.

In the first deal of its type in the country, the police’s strategic headquarters will move to Leigh Road while its operational headquarters will remain in Mottisfont Court, Winchester.

As reported in the Daily Echo both organisations are set to benefit to the tune of £600,000 a year.

HFRS will receive rent from the police – while the police will save money by closing a number of existing offices before transferring staff.

Mr Curry said: “The scheme will result in a closer relationship between the two organisations, with more opportunities for personnel to share knowledge and understanding.

“I’m sure the public would want the police and the fire service to work side by side to protect the community.”

Ironically, one of the biggest challenges currently facing Mr Curry and his staff is a dramatic fall in the number of fire calls received each year.

HFRS, in common with similar organisations across the country, has seen firerelated call-outs drop by 50 per cent over the past ten years, largely because buildings and products have become safer.

It means that the role of HFRS will have to change, with a greater emphasis on the delivery of different services to the community.

Mr Curry added: “The service has a huge potential to deliver more services to make life safer. In Cheshire they have a dementia scheme in which firefighters visit vulnerable people once a week to see if they’re OK.

“In Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service we have a caring group of people who have an even greater potential to protect the community.”

Meet the Chief

DAVE Curry was working as a draughtsman when he was made redundant in his early 20s.

A friend had applied to become a firefighter and he decided to join the profession himself, partly because of his caring nature and his wish to do a job that involved physical activity.

A Londoner by birth, Mr Curry joined Surrey Fire Brigade in 1986, moving up the ranks to become the county’s Assistant Chief Fire Officer in 2001.

He was appointed Deputy Chief Officer of Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service in 2004 and found himself working alongside John Bonney.

The two men became firm friends and have recently returned from a skiing holiday together.

Mr Curry, who succeeded Mr Bonney on January 1 this year following a two-day selection process, said: “I realised I was filling some big shoes but felt part of what John and I had created.

“But I’m my own person and I’m taking the organisation is a subtly different direction.”

Home is a small village in the north western corner of Hampshire. Mr Curry is almost unique among firefighters in that he lives in a thatched cottage, despite the large number that burn down every year.

Away from the office he likes to spend time with his family, including his six grandchildren, as well as taking part in triathlons.